Athens distributes traditional holiday meals to vulnerable citizens

The Greek capital supplied 1,200 homeless individuals with warm dinners on Christmas Eve

Through various initiatives implemented over the past few years, the Greek capital has proven its commitment to helping citizens who are homeless or struggling financially. Taking a case in point, the municipality distributed over 23,600 meals to vulnerable residents over the Easter holidays in April 2021. These Christmas holidays, it has taken similar measures to ensure that nobody feels hungry, helpless, or alone.

Warm meals during cold nights

On 27 December, the City of Athens announced that its Reception and Solidarity Centre (K.Y.A.D.A) distributed 1,200 festive meals to vulnerable citizens on Christmas Eve. These citizens included individuals who are homeless or residents of the municipality’s accommodation structures. More than 300 of the holiday meals were distributed by the so-called ‘street work teams’ which offer help to those who live on the city’s streets.

The Christmas Eve dinners consisted of hot main courses, appetizers, soft drinks, and Greek Christmas sweets such as melomakarona and kourabiedes. In addition to this, the municipality plans to distribute another 1,200 meals – including traditional royal pies – on both New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.

In a press release, the Greek capital further revealed that the Citizens’ Mutual Aid Centre of KYADA offered gift vouchers for supermarkets to more than 3,500 households. Beyond this, it donated gifts for children, personal hygiene products, and food items. Commenting on the need for such actions, the Mayor of Athens, Kostas Bakoyannis, shared:

"The Municipality of Athens continues to support and embrace the vulnerable population of the city. Not only during the holidays but daily with multifaceted actions in the field of Social Solidarity, which create a strong "net" of protection. Our goal is to provide humane living conditions to hundreds of families deprived of basic goods. Guided by solidarity, we continue this great effort so that no one ever feels alone."