The Number of Users of Soup Kitchens in Bijeljina is constantly growing

The best indicators of the economic situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina are soup kitchens. It is an alarming fact that for more than 20,000 of our fellow citizens, public kitchens have become the only place where they can get a meal a day. The state has no solution for this situation, they say from the Public Kitchens, which survive thanks to donations and good people. On a daily basis, 8,000 meals are prepared in 20 public kitchens in BiH.

With half a loaf of bread and one liter of cooked meal, 250 users in Bijeljina survive the day. And the needs are much greater.

“I have eight children, me and my husband. This help means a lot to me, we have nothing to live on. My husband doesn’t work, I don’t work anywhere,” says Esma Delic.

The number of socially endangered is constantly increasing, while donations and money from the local budget are decreasing. Compared to the period when the National Kitchen in Bijeljina was founded, the number of users has tripled, and today there are about 250 people who survive with the help of the national kitchen. Funds from the city budget are allocated for the preparation of 80,000 meals a year.

“This year we are allocating 120,000 BAM, which is only for the purchase of groceries for meal preparation, plus all other costs: water, electricity, fuel, distribution, salaries of workers who prepare and persons who distribute,” said Mitar Skoric, head of the Joint Service. affairs of the City of Bijeljina.

Distribution is done daily at six points, but also through home deliveries. Due to the increase in prices, they say, it is much harder to buy everything you need, but they still manage to deliver that one meal every day.

“It is diverse: cabbage, pasta, potato stew and beans, it is a five-day menu,” said Svjetlana Rankic, an employee of the National Kitchen in Bijeljina.

On weekends and during major holidays when the kitchen is closed, residents receive food in advance to celebrate the holiday. So these days, on the eve of Easter, with the help of donors, groceries will be provided for the holiday table.

This food is distributed on Saturday, and on Friday the city organization of the Red Cross and the Association of Fishermen ‘Fish’ prepares meals on Good Friday, which consists of fried fish, fish soup and eggs, and will be distributed by volunteers of Association ‘Fish’ and our driver who distributes food “, adds Skoric.

According to the data of the State Agency for Statistics, published at the end of last year, there are 229,000 unemployed citizens in BiH. In BiH, according to the United Nations, every sixth household is poor. More than half of the population is on the brink of poverty, while 15 percent of citizens live in absolute poverty.