Hanging meat became the hope for families in need

Butcher Levent Yelgen from Aydın stated that with the ‘Meat on the Hook’ application he initiated four years ago upon the recommendation of a customer and sustained with the contributions of philanthropists, they have reached help to approximately a thousand families up to now.

Levent Yelgen, a butcher in Aydın who has been in the profession for many years, emphasized that with the ‘Meat on the Hook’ application they provide support to those in need by using a signed paper from the muhtars, ensuring that the aid reaches the right people. He said, ‘With this system, we ensure that the aids reach the right individuals. While working with the muhtars on this matter, we distribute aid in a way that respects the dignity of the beneficiaries.’

Yelgen claimed that the ‘Meat on the Hook’ application is the first of its kind in Turkey; ‘I started this project four years ago upon the recommendation of a customer. At that time, the practice of hanging bread in bakeries was very common, and my customer said to me, ‘Why shouldn’t there be a similar application in butcher shops?’ This idea deeply affected me. Many people were having difficulty accessing meat products, and I thought about how I could help them. Thus, we started the ‘Meat on the Hook’ application. We started with the support of a few philanthropists initially, but it is growing every day.’

Emphasizing that they reach families in need through muhtars, Levent Yelgen stated, ‘By collaborating with muhtars, we made sure that our aids reached the right people. Muhtars know the needy families in their neighborhoods very well and they greatly assisted us in reaching these families. Needy families can come to our butcher shop and get meat products with the signed documents they received from the muhtars. This method ensures that aids truly reach the needy and increases the reliability of the system. With the help of philanthropists, we have supported over a thousand families in need in four years. I thank all philanthropists who supported our project.’

Yelgen requested support from business people and philanthropists for the sustainability of the application and to reach more families.