Soup kitchens in Italy distribute 50,000 Christmas meals to the vulnerable

Rome, Dec 25 (EFE).- Soup kitchens across Italy on Christmas Day are offering hot meals to the vulnerable in a bid to help the ‘invisible’ community, many homeless, amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The Community of Sant’Egidio, a Catholic association dedicated to social service, expects to distribute food to up to 80,000 people living in poverty, including 20,000 in Rome.

At the Basilica of Our Lady in Trastevere, in the heart of Rome, 150 Christmas meals were distributed to vulnerable people who were required to show a Covid-19 vaccination certificate before being allowed in.

Last year, the initiative had been suspended due to the pandemic, leaving many, including elderies and refugees, without a hot meal.

The number of food packages distributed since the beginning of the pandemic has tripled, reaching 500,000 meals, of which 213,000 in Rome, according to Sant’Egidio, and the number of meals served in canteens or on the streets has more than doubled, reaching up to one million a day.

The Vatican and the Community of Sant’Egidio have been working to vaccinate homeless people who are not listed in Italian health records against Covid-19.

According to the Italian Institute of Statistics, there are more than 50,000 people living in poverty in Italy. EFE

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