Largest airport in Turkey launches Kosher vending machine

For those who might be stuck at ✈️ IST @igairport because of the ❄️ storm:

Kosher food is available at a vending machine between Concourse A and B in front of Starbucks (near the youth lounge).

Kosher food is available at the İGA Lounge on the Mezzanine level above duty free! pic.twitter.com/5FO6q9StOP

— Rabbi Mendy Chitrik (@mchitrik) March 10, 2022

The new machine will offer food produced by local Kosher caterers La Casa, who donate proceeds to local Jewish families in the Muslim-majority country.

Turkish airport authorities put plans in place for the vending machine after chabad rabbi Chitrik tweeted asking why there was no Kosher food in Istanbul.

Why is there no Kosher food available in the Istanbul Airport?

Everytime I fly - I bring with me food for stranded & hungry Jews who missed their flight.

Isn't it time for @igairport and @TurkishAirlines to assure that Kosher food is available for purchase and in the lounge?

— Rabbi Mendy Chitrik (@mchitrik) November 10, 2021

Chitrik, the country's Ashkenazi chief rabbi, who oversees Kosher certification in Turkey said that before the vending machine was in place, he would frequently bring food with him to the airport to help stranded Jewish travellers who were stuck without anything to eat.

“It’s a statement of comfort, of welcoming, of tolerance and coexistence,” Chitrik said. “And that’s a good thing. It’s a sign of the normalization of Jewish life in the Muslim world.”