There was an offer of a Christmas Eve meal for two hundred homeless people handed out at metro station Kruidtuin/Botanique in Brussels last night. The charity Operatie Thermos provided the meal as well as a pack of personal hygiene products. Unfortunately, due to the large numbers that turned up, some people had to be turned away.
Operatie Thermos (Operation Thermos) offers meals to homeless people every day of the week from 1 November till the end of April thanks to volunteers, the support of sponsors and co-operation from the local transport company MIVB.
The organisation first set to work in 1987 when scouts coming off the train at Brussels Central were touched by the plight of homeless people in the station. They offered them a thermos flask full of coffee as well as sandwiches and this they continued every evening. After a month they were astounded by the scale of the problem and launched a media appeal for volunteers. This is how Operatie Thermos originated.
Together with Operatie Thermos Nathalie organises “Christmas for Everybody” at the Kruidtuin metro station: “Unfortunately our budget doesn’t stretch any further than 200 meals. There are far more requests than that!”
“Today’s menu included mushroom soup, peach and tuna, Flemish stew and a slice of Christmas cake. There was coffee and hot chocolate too. Since the start of the pandemic people can no longer eat their meal here but need to take it away and eat it out on the street. We work with volunteers, but there are certainly enough, especially at Christmas”.