Warmth of the charity kitchen "Understanding and Love"

Meals of love

According to Buddhist nun Thich Nu Chon Ly - Abbot of Phap Hai Pagoda (Ninh Hai Commune), Head of the Executive Board of the charity kitchen "Understanding and Loving", thanks to the support of agencies, businesses, philanthropists and the location support of Ninh Thuan General Hospital, the charity kitchen "Understanding and Loving" has been operating since September 6, 2006 on a ^165m2 plot of land, near the Department of Nephrology - Urology.

Volunteers prepare ingredients.

In the first three months of its establishment, the kitchen only operated 3 days/week, providing about 100 free vegetarian meals/week. By the fourth month, the number of meals increased to about 300 meals/week and was served regularly from Monday to Friday every week. For the past 15 years, the kitchen has regularly served 2 meals, lunch and dinner, from Monday to Friday every week, with about 600 free vegetarian meals per day. The hot, warm, and meaningful meals were given by the kitchen to inpatients at Ninh Thuan General Hospital and their families. The resources to maintain the kitchen over the years have come from organizations, businesses, and philanthropists, which have been fully recorded by the kitchen members, publicly and financially transparently. In addition to cash, many philanthropists also donated rice, vegetables, tubers, fruits, cooking oil, etc. so that the kitchen has more ingredients to cook meaningful meals.

Currently, the kitchen has 65 volunteers, divided into 5 groups, taking turns cooking every day. “From 4am, volunteers start going to the market and cooking rice; at 6am they prepare ingredients together. Every day, the kitchen uses about 110kg of rice to cook rice, and the dishes are constantly changed. The dishes always ensure food safety and hygiene. Ninh Thuan General Hospital coordinates and guides the kitchen members to follow the correct procedures for sample storage, distribution, and storage of food according to regulations” - Ms. Do Thi Gai - Head Chef of the charity kitchen “Hieu va Thuong” said.

After nearly 19 years of operation, the "Understanding and Loving" charity kitchen has left a good impression on patients and their relatives. Mr. Tran Thuan (Do Vinh ward) - a patient undergoing rehabilitation treatment at Ninh Thuan General Hospital shared: "From 2017 to now, I have been an inpatient at the hospital and am a regular customer of the kitchen. Thanks to the kitchen, I have reduced part of the cost and feel secure in my treatment. The volunteers here cook very delicious and clean food". Ms. Thi Duoc (Xom Bang village, Ninh Hai commune) - a relative of an inpatient at the Department of Nephrology - Urology said: "I have been taking care of my grandmother here for nearly 4 years. In the early days, when I did not know about the kitchen, I bought boxed lunches outside, which were expensive but not enough to fill my stomach. Since I learned about the charity kitchen, I have come to the kitchen every day to receive meals for my grandmother and her grandchildren. The vegetarian food from the kitchen is very delicious and clean. Thanks to the meals from the kitchen, my family has reduced a lot of expenses".

Spread the love

According to Master, Specialist II Doctor Le Huy Thach - Director of Ninh Thuan General Hospital, the charity kitchen "Hieu va Thuong" has been open for the past 19 years, providing free vegetarian meals, contributing to reducing costs for patients in difficult circumstances and their families during inpatient treatment at the hospital. The members of the kitchen have a scientific and thoughtful work plan; are fully trained by the hospital in food hygiene and safety; perform 3-step food inspection and store food samples according to regulations. Thanks to that, the meals provided to patients and their families are controlled and safe. In addition to supporting free vegetarian meals, the members of the kitchen also call for and support poor patients and students with cash. Recently, the charity kitchen "Hieu va Thuong" has mobilized to build and prepare to put into operation a charity housing area on the hospital campus with about 100 free accommodations for relatives of inpatients at Ninh Thuan General Hospital.

Patients and their families receive free meals from the Hieu and Thuong charity kitchen.

Patients and their families receive free meals from the "Understanding and Loving" charity kitchen.

“To support the kitchen to maintain its operations, the hospital has connected with kind-hearted people, supporting the kitchen with electricity and water. In the coming time, the hospital will continue to pay attention to and support the kitchen to renovate and upgrade its facilities; continue to connect with kind-hearted people; support food hygiene and safety training and organize regular health check-ups to help the kitchen volunteers have enough health, do good volunteer work, and support many patients with difficult circumstances to visit and receive inpatient treatment at Ninh Thuan General Hospital” - Dr. Le Huy Thach shared.

LAM ANH

Source: https://baokhanhhoa.vn/xa-hoi/202507/am-ap-bep-an-tu-thien-hieu-va-thuong-238574b/