The CMA CGM Foundation launches Mariam's Kitchen Truck: A mobile community kitchen to meet humanitarian needs in Lebanon
- News Category GENERAL INFORMATION
• A mobile kitchen to prepare and distribute hot meals across Lebanon.
• A long-term partnership with Mariam's Kitchen, which already distributed 150,000 hot meals in the first half of 2024 and more than 4,000 meals per day during the emergency response in October and November.
The CMA CGM Foundation handed over the key to the "mobile kitchen" truck to the founders of Mariam's Kitchen, Father Hani and Dounia Tawk, in Beirut on 13 December. This ambitious new project reflects a shared commitment to tackling food insecurity, particularly in the context of humanitarian crises in Lebanon.
Designed by the CMA CGM Foundation in collaboration with the Mariam's Kitchen team, this truck is equipped with a kitchen the size of a 20-foot container (total length of 9 meters) and can prepare and distribute up to 1,000 hot meals per day, while meeting the highest standards of hygiene and safety thanks to modern equipment.
The mobile kitchen is a turnkey humanitarian solution that can be quickly deployed anywhere in Lebanon. It will make stops across Beirut and soon expanding across the country.
This truck is a mobile extension that amplifies the impact of Mariam's Kitchen. Since the inauguration of the new facility in Karantina on 28 December 2023, more than 300,000 hot meals have been provided to people living in vulnerable neighborhoods in and around Beirut.
For Tanya Saadé Zeenny, President of the CMA CGM Foundation, “'the launch of this mobile kitchen is a first and marks a new phase in our far-reaching partnership with Mariam's Kitchen. One year after inaugurating Karantina facility, we are once again bringing together expertise and solidarity to prepare and distribute an additional 1,000 hot meals a day to the most vulnerable people across Lebanon. This is a hallmark of the Foundation and a source of pride for the staff involved. Thanks to the support of the CMA CGM Foundation, 4 million meals have already been distributed throughout Lebanon since 2020 through partner NGOs, including Mariam's Kitchen.”
For Father Hani and Dounia Tawk, founders of Mariam's Kitchen, "this innovative mobile kitchen is a precious gift that enables Mariam's Kitchen to prepare meals with a touch of love wherever it goes. Since 2022, we have been able to pursue our mission in this way thanks to the technical support and the generosity of the CMA CGM Foundation".
This new initiative reflects the CMA CGM Foundation's ongoing commitment to education for all and food security in Lebanon, where an exceptional operation has been launched in October 2024 to distribute 200,000 hot meals, more than 12,000 food parcels and 2,000 blankets through local NGOs, community kitchens and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Additionally, equipment and food supplies will be distributed to families living in collective shelters in collaboration with the World Food Program (WFP) to support self-cooking. Finally, educational kits will be distributed to more than 19,000 children deprived of education in partnership with UNICEF.
Through this mobile kitchen, the CMA CGM Foundation and Cuisine de Mariam renew their commitment to serving the most vulnerable.
