KarunaNews Story

A network of soup kitchens, run mostly by women, has emerged in the Peruvian capital of Lima, in the wake of government's attempts to control the pandemic that increased unemployment and poverty, especially among informal workers. As existing poverty worsened, soup kitchens emerged thanks to food donations and community organizing. The Network of Soup Kitchens of Metropolitan Lima had 2,468 soup kitchens as of November 2021, feeding 257,000 people a day. The solidarity price is two soles (51 cents). But nothing is charged in special cases, such as for the elderly or people with tuberculosis. When the women find out someone has Coronavirus, they leave the meals in plastic containers on their doorstep. And children orphaned by the death of their parents due to Covid-19 also receive free meals. Peru's Ministry of Women and Vulnerable Populations reported that, in 2021, 98,000 minors were orphaned by the pandemic.