From food to health – support that grows

When a family lives in an insecure or inadequate home, every meal is equal to survival. For children, malnutrition is a risk to their health, development and future. The SOLACE-CEE project is here to support families and children living in a situation of homelessness with food, care and attention.

Today, we support families with children with 29 regular monthly food packages, including 5 pregnant women, to ensure a healthy start even before birth. But this is not just food. This is care that grows with the children. Each package is tailored to the age, needs and development of the child and changes as the child grows.

Parents receive not just packages, but also knowledge about children’s nutrition – consultations on how to build a healthy menu, which foods are suitable and which to avoid. Some of them know how to feed their children, but the lack of regular income deprives them of the opportunity to do so.

Insufficient or improper nutrition often leads to anemia, which affects growth and the immune system – as shown by the results of blood tests for anemia of 30 children aged 0-6 years in September 2025.

Pediatrician Dr. Baynova prescribed treatment for the children identified with anemia, and the project nurse, Elena Georgieva, monitors whether the therapy is being followed and the medications are being taken regularly by the children. In March, they will have control blood tests done to see progress.

Not a one-time support, but a real health result.

The SOLACE-CEE project is not just about food. Families gain access to a pediatrician, obstetrician-gynecologist and general practitioner. Our team accompanies women from the poorest part of the Fakuleta district in need of hospitalization during pregnancy, treatment of gynecological problems, insertion of spirals or termination of pregnancy (if necessary). For many of them, this is the first real access to the health system and a chance for a safe future.

The results speak for themselves: children with improved nutritional indicators, monitored treatment of anemia, healthy pregnant women and newborn babies, more confident parents and a reduced risk of complications. This is not just support for a little, but integrated care that changes the lives of families and the trajectory of their children’s future. The SOLACE-CEE project proves that when food, nutrition knowledge and medical care go together, the result is a healthier child, a more confident parent and a more stable future.

This publication is part of the SOLACE-CEE project, funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed in this publication are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.