Regular customer Jeanne van Oosterhout (79) and other Tilburg residents can pick up soup and a meal from ‘ONS soup’ for the last time on Friday. The project that offers free or cheap food in Tilburg is forced to stop because of rising prices. “I’m going to miss talking to the volunteers.”
The start of the corona crisis marked the start of ONS soup in Tilburg three years ago. “Restaurants were closed during corona time and we received many donations due to a great sense of togetherness in the city,” says Linda Oerlemans, the initiator of the project.
“People go on with their lives and donations don’t come.”
“Now that the pandemic has faded into the background, people are moving on with their lives, so donations are not forthcoming,” says Linda. “Due to the rising prices of groceries and petrol, the subsidy we receive from the municipality is no longer enough to pay for meals. make and bring to community centers.”
According to Linda, this means that it is more difficult for Tilburgers with a tight budget to get a healthy meal. “A meal costs 3.95 euros with us, but people who cannot afford it get a soup and meal for free. Food banks are increasingly short of healthy food. Now that our project is also canceled, this has an effect on the minima.”
Tilburgers who were not dependent on the food bank could also get soup and a meal twice a week. “I enjoyed having a chat with the volunteers in the community center. I’m going to miss that now,” says 79-year-old Jeanne van Oosterhout, who has been a regular customer since the start of the corona crisis.
“I can’t make most of the dishes myself.”
“It was a difficult time for me. Due to my heart and kidney disease, I don’t have the energy to shop and cook. The meals were therefore a godsend,” says Jeanne. “It has changed my eating pattern. I started to eat much more varied and learned to eat a lot of pasta. I can’t make most of the dishes myself, so that will be different anyway.”
Linda was inundated with stories from Tilburgers who see the soup disappear with pain in their hearts. “We would like to continue to grow, but it is not possible. The volunteers are there, but the resources are not.” The food that Jeanne picks up on Friday is therefore her last for the time being.
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