Over 6,000 Maltese families served 19,000 meals by Victory Kitchen charity

A cooperative of food establishments and chefs have fed over 6,000 families in Malta with 19,000 meals in the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The food charity, run through a network of restaurants, social workers and logistics companies, is spearheaded by Rafel Sammut of Briju Restaurant, and a number of chefs who joined forces to help as many people as possible during these difficult times.

“Just one week after shutting our doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic, my chefs and I were already feeling restless and bored at home,” Sammut said. “That evening during my daily conversation with a close friend who works at the hospital, we exchanged ideas and one of them stuck – Victory Kitchen. The next day, I proposed this concept to my brother and fellow chefs, their feedback was encouraging and so off we went with the aim of feeding one family a day.”

From feeding just 16 families in the first week, that number climbed to 54 a week later, then 74. To date, Victory Kitchen has helped 6,621 families, by donating over 19,576 meals.

Victory Kitchen will now be organising a fundraising event in September. “We need all the help we can get to reach our goal, and this is why we are hosting a fundraising event,” Sammut said. “This involves a swim starting from Ċirkewwa, going around Comino, up to Gozo and going back to Ċirkewwa, covering a total of 15.1km. The exact date and starting location will be confirmed later on, depending on weather conditions.”

Sammut said those wishing to help, can participate by donating €100, or contact Victory Kitchn on 99906056. Funds will be used to feed families in need.

“There are thousands of families that are still in need. Victory Kitchen translates humble food into hope, faith, and courage for those who might otherwise remain hungry. We intend to continue our services on a permanent bases and hopefully reach out to even more people over the coming months,” Sammut said.

Together with Hany Harb from Alibaba restaurant, Jean Galea Souchet from Cleland & Souchet, Robert Bonello, Zack De Marco and Marko Pavlovic, Sammut was also part of the team that headed to Beirut to assist families affected by the recent tragedy by cooking thousands of meals and distributing 1000kg of raw produce.