Comedor de Nosotras

The Corona crisis has made many of our neighbours even poorer than they were before. Some have so little that they can no longer afford to eat every day. But not only money is missing. Many of those who come to us have no home at all, or one in which they are not safe. Domestic violence against women* and children was already a big problem before, but due to the time of quarantine and the ongoing economic crisis there are even more of us who suffer from it.
In our Comedor therefore we offer not only a good meal to everyone once a week. We listen to each other, we understand each other, we care for each other and we all feel that we are not alone. This is at least as important for all of us here as a full stomach. That's why our secret recipe against the crisis is the right mixture of lentils and love - and a big plate full of it, please.

We know that a good meal a week will not solve the profound problems that the people here are struggling with. But our goal is that everyone is full and satisfied at least once a week. And more importantly, that everyone realizes that here is a place where they can come, where they can meet other people who feel like them, where they don't have to be afraid, where they don't have to be ashamed, where they can share their suffering and their joy with others.

Of course, we don't sell the food. Those who can and want donate something, but that is not enough to cover the costs. We don't get public funding - neither does the citys administration consider our project worthy of support, nor do we want to depend on them. Therefore we live on the solidarity of those who share our ideas and ideals. And from the fact that they give us a little bit of what they own :)

Cooking good and lots of food every week naturally costs money. We use a lot of fruit and vegetables from our own garden and many people (and some shops) regularly donate groceries - but unfortunately this is not enough for everything. We need gas, spices, oil, dishes, water, dish soap, etc. and every now and then something breaks and we have to replace it. Every week we spend about 130 Euro in addition to the donation. The math behind the 6370 Euro is therefore quite simple: 130 Euro multiplied by 49 Wednesdays, on which we will cook from the beginning of September until the end of July (in August the city is so hot that it is practically at a standstill for one month and we also take a break).
In summary, if our campaign is successful, we will have secured the funding for about 5000 portions of food next year. The money collected here goes exclusively into the Comedor's community fund to cover these costs. And probably no need to mention, but of course nobody is paid for the work here. We are a team of 20 people in total and everyone volunteers to help as often and as much as they can.