A new soup kitchen is to open in January to provide meals to vulnerable people, as a response to the cost-of-living crisis hitting low-income families.
The Caritas-run venture at tal-Virtù, Rabat, is expected to feed 180 people a day.
It was announced by the chairman of the Alf Mizzi Foundation, which is supporting the project.
Julian Sammut also detailed preparations for the Archbishop’s Christmas Lunch, which is set to be hosted at the Curia on Sunday.
A soup kitchen in Valletta, run by the Franciscan Friars, already feeds between 80 to 100 people a day, Sammut said, while the homeless shelters run by Caritas, Dar il-Hena and Dar Papa Franġisku, distribute some 50 meals a day to non-residents.
Another charity organisation, Victory Kitchen, is providing hundreds of meals to families in need over the Christmas period.
Speaking to Times of Malta, Caritas director Anthony Gatt said the cost of living crisis has had an impact on low-income families.
“When there’s a shock increase in prices, those at the lower end of the earning scale are automatically hit the hardest,” he said.
Projects like the soup kitchen, he said, are a response to the “realities of the day” in which more people find themselves asking for help to put food on the table.
“During the peak of COVID, we were giving out some 800 meals a day but as things stabilised, we still gave out some 180 meals a day and that has remained constant,” Gatt said.
“We do try to aim for empowerment, so if a man can catch a fish himself, so to speak, rather than have us give it to him, all the better,” he continued.
Not just about feeding people
“However the people who claim these 180 meals a day are in severe material need. We’re talking about elderly people with no support system, people with mental health issues and families who are supporting a person with severe disabilities or illnesses.”
Gatt further elaborated that the collaboration between Caritas and Alf Mizzi was not just about feeding people in need. The Valletta soup kitchen, he said, also feeds between 80 to 100 people a day, while the homeless shelters Dar il-Hena and Dar Papa Franġisku distribute some 50 meals a day to non-residents.
“All of these projects are popping up in response to the reality around us,” he said.
During the press conference, Gatt announced that the Archbishop’s Christmas meal was finally making an in-person comeback after the pandemic, during which meals were instead distributed door to door.
“While some don’t have the means to feed their families well on Christmas, some others who do have the means spend Christmas alone and isolated. Through this initiative, they both have the opportunity to spend Christmas in the company of others,” he said.
The meal is set to welcome some 550 people, in line with previous years, while some 300 meals will be delivered to people who are housebound on Christmas Day. A further 200 people will be visited by volunteers bearing a small gift in an effort to combat loneliness.
Some 200 volunteers will be powering the Christmas meal efforts, including residents of the Caritas rehabilitation centre.