Connecting donors with local actors

In a country where more than 1 Million people have been displaced and thousands of families struggle to secure a daily meal, a new platform is turning Lebanon's restaurant industry into a lifeline.  

Sofra is a digital coordination platform that connects donors worldwide with local Lebanese restaurants and NGOs to fund, prepare, and deliver hot meals to displaced families; transparently, efficiently, and at scale.  

The Problem  

Lebanon's overlapping crises have left hundreds of thousands without reliable access to food. Meanwhile, restaurants with the capacity to cook sit underutilized, and donors lack a trusted, transparent channel to help.  

The Solution

Sofra streamlines the process. The model is simple  

• Donors fund meals from anywhere in the world. 

• Restaurants cook at cost using their existing kitchens and staff, keeping their businesses running.  

• NGOs deliver to verified shelters and displaced families on the ground.  

Every meal is tracked from kitchen to shelter. Every dollar is accounted for.    

How It Works 

Sofra's matching engine pairs donor pledges with restaurant capacity and NGO delivery routes in real time. Donors fund meals. Restaurants prepare funded batches using their operational kitchens and teams. NGOs deliver to verified shelters. NGOs confirm deliveries with photo verification. Donors receive live updates on exactly where their contribution went.  

The initiative is designed to align with existing coordination systems to complement ongoing efforts and help address gaps where they emerge, and has been presented to the National Food Security Sector, which coordinates food assistance to shelters across Lebanon. 

A Model That Sustains, Not Just Aids 

"This isn't charity in the traditional sense," says the founding team. "We're building an economic loop. Donors feed families. Restaurants keep their doors open and their staff employed. NGOs operate with structure and accountability. Everyone wins."  

Sofra is designed to scale, the same model can be replicated in any crisis where local food infrastructure exists but coordination is missing.  

Who Is Behind Sofra  

Sofra was launched through a strategic partnership between the Lebanese Ministry of Tourism, Siren,  CME, and Beirut Digital District.  

The initiative brings together public sector support, private sector execution, and digital infrastructure to enable coordinated action at scale.  

Siren led the strategic design and development of the platform, leveraging its expertise in systems thinking, digital coordination, and operational structuring. CME supported implementation and partnership activation, while Beirut Digital District is providing ecosystem backing, marketing, communication and outreach support. The Lebanese Ministry of Tourism endorsed and supported the initiative, reinforcing the role of the hospitality sector in serving communities during times of crisis.  

Together, the partners combined institutional credibility, operational capabilities, and network access to transform an urgent need into a coordinated response mechanism.  

Early Traction

The platform has already onboarded partner restaurants across Beirut and surrounding areas, with NGOs actively delivering meals to shelters. Community engagement is growing through Sofra's recipe voting feature, where visitors choose which dishes restaurants prepare next.  

Join the Movement  

Donors: Fund meals | Restaurants: Cook meals | NGOs: Deliver meals