Diána Széles, deputy mayor of Debrecen, and Zsolt Nagy, manager-director of the Cívis Social Catering Center, held a press conference on the public kitchen service in Debrecen at the Bánk food point.
According to Diána Széles, in recent years the municipality of Debrecen has worked very hard in the spirit of the Caring City concept to further expand its already wide-spectrum social care system. Part of this is the public kitchen service, which has been operating under a supply contract for two years with the help of the Cívis Social Catering Center. By the way, the dining center has been operating in this area for six years. The soup kitchen service is financed by the Government of Hungary.
This service means a bowl of hot food per day, which every Hungarian citizen over the age of 18 – regardless of their social status or need – can receive free of charge if they provide their details – name, birth name, place, and time of birth, social security number, address and place of residence – and confirms receipt of the food with his signature.
According to Diána Széles, the public kitchen service can also help the daily lives of those participating in other social programs, such as the public work program, or those with small pensions. The aim of the Debrecen municipality – and the developments carried out in the last two years served this as well – is to have food outlets within walking distance of everyone who wants to use them.
To this end, 44 such food distribution points are currently operating in the administrative area of the city – from the city center to housing estates to gardens and outlying areas. The function of these food points is not only to deliver food but also to function as a community space. As an example, Diána Széles mentioned the food point on Pósa Street, where a few people often gather hours before the food distribution begins and carry out some kind of community activity. Currently, a total of 8,000 portions of food are distributed at the food points in the city, but this quantity can be expanded according to needs.
Zsolt Nagy, the manager-director of the Cívis Social Catering Center, which provides services in the three counties – Hajdú-Bihar, Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén, and Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok – added to all of this, the dimensions of the folk kitchen service in Debrecen and the comprehensiveness of the entire settlement is unique and exemplary.
Their goal is to have a total of 50 food outlets in the city by the end of this year – the necessary permits are already being obtained for several locations.
Zsolt Nagy also said that according to their experience, one-third of the soup kitchen users are retired, one-third are among those who cannot join the labor market, and one-third have a job, but due to their low income, ensuring their daily livelihood is a problem for them.
The food points in Debrecen – with the exception of Christmas and New Year’s Day – practically operate every day of the year – fully on weekdays, and 60 percent on Saturdays and Sundays and holidays, as there are food points that operate in institutions that are not open on these days. Despite this, those who still require catering can find a functioning food point, although it is slightly larger than usual, but also within reach.
Places to use the public kitchen service can be found here.
Fotók: Miskolczi János
Debrecen City Hall
