Minister of State for Social and Family Affairs Miklós Soltész announced today that, compared to 2011, the Government will provide more than twice as much funding for charity organisations as well as raising the number of eligible organisations from three to eight.

Mr Soltész highlighted that in 2013 nearly HUF 620 million is being distributed to the Hungarian Maltese Charity Service, Hungarian Reformed Church Aid, Catholic Caritas, Hungarian Interchurch Aid, Johanniter, St. Luke's Byzantine Catholic Charity, the Hungarian Food Bank Association and Hungarian Baptist Aid. Mr Soltész also recalled that the Government abolished VAT requirements for donations in 2010, significantly helping the work of charitable organisations.

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The announcement was made at an event organised by the Ministry of Human Resources with the intention of presenting the Hungarian Association of Large Families (NOE) with more than 50 tons of food, to be distributed later among 2013 families. The initiative, launched last year within the framework of the Producers for Families Programme, aims to support disadvantaged people raising children through providing food packages consisting of quality Hungarian products.

The Hungarian Government also supports low-income families by ensuring that 500 000 children receive discounted meals each year, including 360 000 who receive free meals while their parents are also exempt from paying for day-care services. Furthermore, families who are eligible for regular child protection allowance are provided with free school books.

President of NOE Hajnalka Székely welcomed the measures that the Government has introduced in recent years to support families with children and stated that the food packages will be distributed mainly among disadvantaged people with disabled children, one-parent and low-income families or where one of the parents is unemployed.

(Ministry of Human Resources)