Food will be distributed to “more than 2,400 charities”
Portugal’s Food Bank (Banco Alimentar) campaign against hunger collected 1,755 tonnes of food last weekend from more than 2,000 supermarkets across the country, the charity said on Monday.
The collection results represent “an increase compared to last year’s campaign, on a weekend marked by the coincidence of various activities, such as the final of the Football Cup, concerts and the students’ rag week, confirming both the solidarity of the Portuguese and the renewed trust in food banks against hunger,” reads a statement from the organisation.
“In times of great anxiety and some uncertainty like the ones we’re living in, it fills our hearts to see that values as essential as solidarity and active civic participation remain firm and unchanged in the Portuguese people,” said the president of the Portuguese Federation of Food Banks Against Hunger (FPBACF), Isabel Jonet, quoted in the statement.
The food collected will be distributed to “more than 2,400 social solidarity institutions, which will deliver it to around 360,000 people with proven food shortages,” the statement said.
In Madeira, 28,160 kilos of food were collected from the region’s supermarkets over the weekend, which will be distributed over the coming months to people with proven needs through partner institutions.
This result, according to a note from the Madeira Food Bank, exceeded that of the same period in 2023 by 21.8%, as well as that of the last campaign held in December last year, by 2.1%.
In addition to this face-to-face campaign, which saw the participation of around 40,000 volunteers, it will still be possible to contribute, until June 2, through vouchers available in supermarkets or on the electronic platform available at www.alimentestaideia.pt.
Last year, the 21 operational food banks against hunger distributed 25,750 tonnes of food, with an estimated total value of over €39.4 million.
Source: LUSA
