The charity, run by the Church of Greece, is part of an initiative realized by the Give for Greece program. Originally started by the International Orthodox Christian Charities along with support from the Orthodox Church of North America, Greek-American foundations and US citizens, the organization has offered support to 6,367 individuals, 3,354 families, 342 single-parent families and 124 families with disabled members thus far.
According to the Apostoli charity, families will be receiving 45 euros a month worth of fresh produce including fruit, vegetables, dairy products and poultry.
The gift of food is precious in Greece, as it is estimated that as many as much as 25 percent of school children were underfed and suffering from hunger in 2015, according to the Prolepsis Institute of Preventive Medicine, Environmental and Occupational Health. The same study revealed that 60 percent of school children were suffering from food insecurity, meaning that they did not get enough food. The cause was determined as the study concluded that in 61 percent of the cases, one of the two parents were without income and 17 percent of the families had no income at all.
