Community kitchen run by Deaf persons in the Gaza Strip

Atfaluna’s Inclusive Community Kitchen in Deir al-Balah employs 20 Deaf cooks and prepares 250 family meals daily (≈1.5 kg), feeding over 1,700 people across Gaza. It offers accessible shelter, WASH, psychosocial support and inclusive training. Funded by CBM and German partners.

Atfaluna Society for Deaf Children is a Palestinian NGO in Gaza that was founded in 1992 by a women’s group. In 2024, Atfaluna started a locally managed community kitchen providing daily hot meals to families affected by war and poverty in Deir al-Balah, Gaza City, and Khan Yunis. The kitchen is run by 20 persons with disabilities, especially hearing impairments, who were trained as cooks. While providing food, they also help identify individuals needing further assistance and access to assistive devices.

Problems Targeted

Displaced families in war-affected areas lack nutrition and support during emergencies, are unable to evacuate quickly or access basic services. At the same time, persons with disabilities are in need of meaningful activities.

Solution, Innovation and Impact

Atfaluna Society for Deaf Children established an inclusive shelter in Deir al-Balah, a city in the Gaza Strip, designed as a model to ensure accessibility, privacy, and dignity for families with and without disabilities. The shelter provides a safe space, adapted WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene) facilities, and continuous psychosocial and protection support. In 2024, it set up a community kitchen in Deir al-Balah to provide daily meals to over 1,700 people affected by the war, prioritizing families with disabled members. The kitchen operations continued to work daily throughout 2025; and since May 2025 have functioned as part of the wider project response of ASDC, a key actor in humanitarian aid in Palestine. Cooks who have hearing disabilities – previously trained in hospitality and gastronomy – form the core team, preparing and serving the meals. New recipes are developed and explained to Deaf chefs in an accessible manner. The same inclusive approach is applied to training on safety and hygiene. The food was distributed through shelter coordination points, bringing food items directly to people in need and ensuring adequate adaptations in formal settings where necessary. In 2024, Atfaluna’s community kitchen team comprised 20 Deaf cooks and helpers, producing 250 meals daily with locally built stoves.

Funding, Outlook and Transferability

Atfaluna’s community kitchen was initially funded by the non-profit organization CBM (€430,000) and later integrated into a German government project (€1.2 million), with additional funding from CBM Italy (€40,000). CBM has replicated similar inclusive kitchen models with partners in Lebanon, planning to extend it as the model proves to be regionally relevant and effective. (#ZeroCall26)

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