In brief
Anera's community kitchens in Gaza have ramped up their efforts to feed the hungry, serving over 210,000 meals daily. However, despite recent improvements in food access, vital ingredients like meat and fresh vegetables remain unavailable. Families affected by the ongoing conflict continue to grapple with food shortages and rising prices, emphasizing the ongoing humanitarian challenges faced by Gazans.
Garlic simmers in huge metal pots heated over open wood fires and set up in a long line. Cooks add canned tomatoes and peppers with handfuls of spices, stirring the sauce with giant spoons. What is being prepared here is not just lunch, it is a lifeline.
American Near East Refugee Aid (Anera) opened this community kitchen in al-Zawayda in central Gaza after the ceasefire began six weeks ago. The US humanitarian organization has another kitchen in al-Mawasi in the south of the strip, which the BBC visited in early May.
Back then, two months into an Israeli blockade, preventing the entry of all food and other goods, stocks were dwindling. Now, with more food allowed to enter, the situation has improved.
Each day, Anera feeds a hot meal to more than 20,000 people. We have moved from using 15 pots in the past, and now we increased to up to 120 pots in a day, targeting more than 30 internally displaced people's camps, says team leader Sami Matar. We're serving more than 4,000 families compared to just 900 families six months ago.
However, while Anera is managing to get access to more food, vital ingredients missing include fresh vegetables and essential proteins like meat and chicken. As a result, meals are often limited to rice, pasta, and lentils. We need the food to be more diverse, to secure fresh vegetables and essential proteins like meat and chicken, Matar emphasizes.
The UN continues to call for more aid to be allowed in. Despite Israel allowing hundreds of aid lorries into Gaza daily since the ceasefire began, basic ingredients required for nutritious meals remain inaccessible, illustrating the ongoing struggle to provide adequate sustenance for Gazans.
