100,000 families at soup kitchens
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Şükran Özçakmak
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Aralık 24, 2008 00:00
ISTANBUL - The General Directorate of Foundations currently distributes to 5,000 people with disabilities and orphans a monthly wage of YTL 261.13 each. The head of the directorate, Yusuf Beyazıt, says their income has increased to YTL 440 mln
In the decade since 1999, the number of families lining up in soup kitchens has increased from 9,925 to 100,000, according to applications by foundations to the Finance Ministry.
Currently, there are 77,280 families who get warm food from soup kitchens, or "imarethane," while a further 71,850 families get free provisions.
The General Directorate of Foundations asked the Finance Ministry to increase its budget to serve 100,000 families from the 108 soup kitchens around the country in 2009, but already the number of applications had exceeded that number.
The largest soup kitchen in the country serves 1,200 families in the Eyüp district of Istanbul, while in Istanbul a total of 14,700 families are fed by the soup kitchens.
In Ankara, 1,350 families are fed by soup kitchens while a further 1,525 families get provisions.
No more queus despite larger numbers
Despite the increase in the number of families getting food from soup kitchens, there is no longer the long line in front of them because the food is mostly delivered to people’s homes by private firms that win the tenders.
Officials say those who wait in front of the soup kitchens are either unregistered or prefer to eat there.
Those who work at the soup kitchens say most of those who are registered are women who were left by their husbands.
Non-receivers of state aid eligible
According to regulations, those who can receive food from soup kitchens are people who do not receive benefits from social security agencies, those who do not receive state aid, divorced individuals with no income, people with disabilities that cannot pursue normal lives without other people’s help and orphans.
The soup kitchens also demand identification and proof of no income from those who apply.
The head of the General Directorate of Foundations, Yusuf Beyazıt, said their income had increased from YTL 35 million to YTL 440 million since 2002, after they had registered 27,000 new properties to the directorate. "With this budget, we finance the soup kitchens, distribute provisions, grant scholarships, assign wages to the needy and establish museums," he said.
The directorate currently distributes to 5,000 people with disabilities and orphans a monthly wage of YTL 261.13 each.
Currently, there are 77,280 families who get warm food from soup kitchens, or "imarethane," while a further 71,850 families get free provisions.
The General Directorate of Foundations asked the Finance Ministry to increase its budget to serve 100,000 families from the 108 soup kitchens around the country in 2009, but already the number of applications had exceeded that number.
The largest soup kitchen in the country serves 1,200 families in the Eyüp district of Istanbul, while in Istanbul a total of 14,700 families are fed by the soup kitchens.
In Ankara, 1,350 families are fed by soup kitchens while a further 1,525 families get provisions.
No more queus despite larger numbers
Despite the increase in the number of families getting food from soup kitchens, there is no longer the long line in front of them because the food is mostly delivered to people’s homes by private firms that win the tenders.
Officials say those who wait in front of the soup kitchens are either unregistered or prefer to eat there.
Those who work at the soup kitchens say most of those who are registered are women who were left by their husbands.
Non-receivers of state aid eligible
According to regulations, those who can receive food from soup kitchens are people who do not receive benefits from social security agencies, those who do not receive state aid, divorced individuals with no income, people with disabilities that cannot pursue normal lives without other people’s help and orphans.
The soup kitchens also demand identification and proof of no income from those who apply.
The head of the General Directorate of Foundations, Yusuf Beyazıt, said their income had increased from YTL 35 million to YTL 440 million since 2002, after they had registered 27,000 new properties to the directorate. "With this budget, we finance the soup kitchens, distribute provisions, grant scholarships, assign wages to the needy and establish museums," he said.
The directorate currently distributes to 5,000 people with disabilities and orphans a monthly wage of YTL 261.13 each.