LEBANON — A new digital platform, "Sofra", has been launched to coordinate food assistance for displaced families across Lebanon.

Developed through a strategic partnership between the Lebanese Ministry of Tourism, Siren, CME and Beirut Digital District, the initiative connects donors worldwide with local restaurants and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to fund, prepare and distribute hot meals.

The platform comes amid a worsening humanitarian situation, with more than one million displaced and facing limited access to food.

At the same time, many restaurants retain operational capacity but lack demand, while donors often struggle to find transparent and reliable channels to provide support. 

"Sofra" addresses this gap through a coordinated model built on three pillars: donors fund meals remotely, restaurants prepare them using existing kitchens and staff, and NGOs distribute them to verified shelters and displaced families.

Each meal is tracked from preparation to delivery, with spending recorded to ensure transparency and accountability.

A real-time matching system links donor contributions with restaurant capacity and NGO distribution routes. The process includes funding, cooking, delivery, verification through photographic documentation, and direct updates to donors on how their contributions are used.

Instead of being a traditional charity, "Sofra" works as a simple system that helps everyone involved: feeding families in need, keeping restaurants running, and helping NGOs deliver meals in an organized way.

The platform is already operational, with restaurants in Beirut and surrounding areas participating and NGOs delivering meals to shelters.

It is also designed to be scalable and adaptable to other crisis contexts where local food infrastructure exists but coordination is lacking.

Donations can be made via this link, while restaurants can join the network at Join as a kitchen partner and NGOs can participate through this registration page.