A SOUP kitchen is back to serving meals to the homeless and marginalised in Kuala Lumpur every Sunday after being forced to scale down its operations during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Dapur Jalanan Kuala Lumpur (DJKL) co-ordinator Quratulain Atiqah said “normal service” resumed early this month, when the group could offer meals in a more conducive manner at its usual spot on Jalan Panggong.

Quratulain said DJKL, which started offering weekly meals in March 2013, had to switch from serving dishes to handing out packages during the movement control order (MCO).

“Before the pandemic we used to bring the food to Jalan Panggong, where we would serve to the people. We would eat together while interacting with them.

“However, during the lockdown, we had to change the system by preparing food packages and handing them over to the community.

“Yet, since last Sunday, we have returned to the original way,” she told The Malaysian Insight.

She said that by doing so, volunteers are able to talk to people, build better relations with them, find out their problems and offer solutions.

“We have started doing our normal services. With this, opportunities to reach out to the homeless and the urban poor are open again,” the lawyer said.

Quratulain said DJKL’s main focus is to address the urban poverty affecting those in Kuala Lumpur.

“Since 2013, we have offered assistance and solutions according to our ability. This includes the DJKL People’s Counter to help give the urban poor and homeless access to government aid.

“There is a lot of help provided by the government and agencies, but this information does not reach this community, so through the people’s counter, we share this information.

“We also help the community members to register for any aid,” she said, adding that DJKL also worked with the Red Crescent Society to provide basic health check-ups every two months.

DJKL, which relies on volunteers to carry out its services, also receives financial and food donations from the public.

Quratulain said DJKL relied heavily on regular co-ordinators and volunteers, including college students and companies doing their corporate social responsibility (CSR).

“Almost every week we receive help and support from companies and educational institutions.

“Weekly, we need about 20 people for cooking, serving and cleaning the location.

“The DJKL team has seven to 10 people to ensure everything runs smoothly. There are times when there are no volunteers. In those cases, we will round up friends and whoever we can find to help us,” she said.

Quratulain said DJKL providing free food for 10 years was not a happy achievement because it meant the issue of urban poverty was still unresolved.

“As long as this issue is still there, then DJKL will also be around to offer meals for those in need,” she said.

Quratulain said DJKL used to serve about 80 to 120 people in a week, but this number increased drastically during the pandemic, with volunteers delivering almost 400 packages.

“We also provide more food while holding the health check-ups,” she said. – February 19, 2023.