The Jesuit Province in Hungary and the Hungarian Food Bank Association, which fights against food waste, help three hundred people with non-perishable food packages every month. The first shipment was sent at the beginning of the summer to needy Roma families supported by the Jesuits.

In Hungary, 1.8 million tons of food surplus is produced every year. If we put the unconsumed goods on trucks, the line would stretch from Budapest to as long as Paris. The Hungarian Food Bank collects food that can no longer be marketed but is suitable for consumption. Since its establishment in 2005, it has distributed food worth more than 160 million euros to residents of children’s homes, people living in home for the elderly, large families, the disabled, the homeless, and those in family support centers.

In Arló (a village in North East Hungary), support will surely go where it is most needed. The Jesuits have been carrying out their Roma mission in the underdeveloped settlement since 2020. “Due to the recent price increase, the food donations have been more valuable”, says Bea Kozár of the Jesuit “Presence” program. From the beginning of this summer, durable food is being delivered to the mission every month. There will be canned vegetables in the package, instant soup at winter, but there is usually cereal as well. This regular support will be of great value in Arló, where until now there were only occasional food distributions, at Christmas or when a particular family was in great need.

The collaboration was initiated by the Jesuits, based on their experiences of the Arló program and the local needs. Representatives of the Food Bank also visited the village, got acquainted with the work going on there, and visited the House of Presence, serving as a support centre for the local families. Regular donations contribute to the Jesuit mission, so that the members and co-workers of the order can be companions of the poor, the outcasts, and those who have their dignity injured, in the spirit of the mission of reconciliation and justice.

Jesuits Hungary