The Food Heritage Foundation, in affiliation to the Environment and Sustainable Development Unit at AUB, is supporting a community kitchen in Minyara, Akkar in partnership with the International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC). The project initiated in May 2013 and is ongoing.

The idea behind this project is to link emergency food assistance to the development of host communities. In fact, a pre-existing community kitchen in Minyara was upgraded and women were mobilized and trained to cater healthy traditional food pots to vulnerable refugee families.

Women cooks are both locals, from the host community of Minyara, and Syrians, from the surrounding refugee communities.

This project offers an income-generating activity to women, while helping to enhance social rehabilitation among host and refugee women. At the same time, the distribution of food pots helped alleviate food insecurity and increase dietary diversity among vulnerable refugee families. The project also contributes to boosting the local economy as raw ingredients are purchased on site.

In January 2014, this outreach has targeted 240 refugee families in Halba and Kousha – Akkar. These families are receiving food pots 3 times per week. Priority is given to families with pregnant / lactating women, elderly and children under 5 years of age.