A mobile app for free meals
“Young people in Türkiye try to receive education under very challenging conditions. Supporting young people is one of the most important responsibilities we bear, because we do not want our youth to be destitute of education due to the high cost of living and limited opportunities. With the ‘MealsForStudents’ application, we have implemented a project that has not been available in Turkey so far. Together, we will protect young people’s right to be young.”, stated Rıza Akpolat, Mayor of Beşiktaş.
To fight student poverty, the Turkish municipality Beşiktaş in cooperation with TURYID (Turkish Restaurant and Entertainment Association), developed the application Öğrenci’Ye, which translates to “Meals For Students”.
This one-of-a-kind mobile application is a solidarity ecosystem project launched in 2020. Students living in Beşiktaş and/or studying at the universities in Beşiktaş can all benefit from this program. They can reserve a meal, in any of the partner restaurants, through the application and get it for free. Students are also able to be informed about the available menus of restaurants, how long the meals are reserved, and how many guests the restaurant accepts. Thousands of students have received free food since the beginning of the project.
Policy Advisor – Governance and Institutional Relations
