On the last Sunday of August, the civil association Kéretlen Figyelem – Debreceni Nők Közéleti Egyesülete once again held a food distribution in Debrecen.
As the association’s leader, Ibolya Tukoráné Kádár, wrote: on Sunday mornings at 9:00 most people are having coffee at home with their families, discussing the festive menu and planning the day’s family program. However, for some, the last Sunday of the month is far from idyllic. They are simply hungry and want a proper meal.
Already an hour and a half before the free food distribution began, poor residents of Debrecen started gathering at Petőfi Square. By half past nine, almost 100 tickets had been distributed, and more and more guests of the association kept arriving. Every bench in the square was filled with people waiting for food.
They know that on the last Sunday of every month the Debreceni Nők Közéleti Egyesülete welcomes those living on the margins of society with a hot meal. The city leadership’s flashy but empty slogan, “Caring City,” has never filled the stomach of a single hungry person in Debrecen. But people can count on us, the civilians—they know that rain or shine, we always wait for them with warm food. What we promise, we keep,
– said Ibolya Tukoráné Kádár, who added that just days ago the city was still enchanted by the Flower Carnival financed with millions of public funds, but now those were the ones waiting in line who are usually invisible in the shadow of the carnival. For them, even major holidays are only about whether they will have something to eat, whether there will be bread on the table.
According to the association’s leader, the lives of those living on the margins of society in Debrecen leave the city leadership cold, and the wealthier citizens do not move a finger to help those in trouble.
“We are unable to make the city’s wealthy billionaires soften their hearts and feel it their moral duty to support the vulnerable and the weak. We know this wish is like water off a duck’s back, but we must write it down, because it is our duty to speak out. We cannot be accomplices in silence. After all, the true strength of a city, of a community, is shown by how it treats those pushed to the edges of society,”
– she said.
Last month, the association sent an email to the deputy mayor responsible for social affairs, asking her to hold an outdoor office hour during the food distribution. More than 30 days have passed since, but the deputy mayor has not replied.
“She is probably more active in her digital civic circle, and of course she has big dreams. Unfortunately, here in Debrecen, a city leader can simply treat the locals as if they were invisible. Indeed, a smiling selfie with those waiting for food distribution would not look very good in her album,”
– continued the head of the organization, who added that by the end of Sunday’s food distribution nearly 200 guests had come. Everyone could go home with food, and even the homeless shelter residents received bread.
As the school year begins next week, the food distribution was also combined with the distribution of school supplies. Families who regularly come to the food distributions and have school-age children were given help for the start of the school year. Nearly 70 children received school supplies, backpacks, and books.
The organization is grateful to everyone who helped ensure that every guest could go home satisfied. Special thanks go to the members of Jégmadár Tisza Sziget for their cooperation, and also to the young people from Pomázi Ifjúsági Tisza Sziget led by Viktória Czigány, who arrived with backpacks and school supplies. They read about the call for help and felt they should be present. Thanks also go to the bakeries. The staff of Szováti Kemencés Pékség (Hajdúszoboszló) even baked especially for the event so that no one would leave empty-handed.
The association will next welcome its guests on September 28, 2025, at Petőfi Square, at the usual time. Those who would like to help can contact the Kéretlen Figyelem – Debreceni Nők Közéleti Egyesülete at the following phone number: +36 30 9841 963.
