Covid-19: Bulgaria’s Labour Ministry says more than 500 000 in need given food packages, hot lunches
More than 526 000 Bulgarians in need have received food packages, hot lunches or other forms of care during the Covid-19 pandemic, the country’s Labour and Social Policy Ministry said on November 16.
Recipients included the elderly, people with disabilities or low incomes, single parents and people in quarantine, the ministry said.
Nearly 26 000 people from 239 municipalities and regions of the country are visited by the care teams, which supply them with food and medicine, or perform some administrative services such as paying utility bills, according to the ministry.
Older people can also benefit from integrated health and social services – to have their blood measured by a doctor or assistance in following their medication schedule.
The services are performed through municipal projects financed from European Union funds.
More than 26 400 people are recipients through the “Hot Lunch at Home” programme, the ministry. The delivery includes soup, a main course and bread, with dessert at least once a week.
Through a separate programme, under the Social Protection Fund of the ministry, a further 4141 disadvantaged people are provided with hot food in public canteens. Those unable to visit the canteens receive their food at home.
By the end of November, a total of 6500 tons of food in the form of food packages will have been distributed through the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy programme, the statement said. The packages will reach 470 000 people in need, it said.
Each package weighs 23kg and contains several types of canned food, rice, spaghetti, sugar, lentils, flour and oil. Families with two or more members receive two food packages each.
The support is expected to continue next year, and talks are currently underway with the European Commission to provide funds for the continuation of the programmes, the ministry said.
(Photo via the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy)
The Sofia Globe’s coverage of the Covid-19 situation in Bulgaria is supported by the Embassies of Switzerland and Finland.
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