On 24 January 2023, the European Union donated two transport units to make the operation of the Food Bank more efficient. The donation consists of two cars equipped with refrigeration systems that will enable the safe distribution of perishable food collected by the Food Bank for social services across the country.
This support is offered by the European Union through the project “Partnerships for inclusive and resilient social canteen services” which aims to develop social canteen services in the country.
Magdalena Mueller-Uri, Head of Cooperation at EU Delegation to Moldova, stated
“The European Union provides continuous support to the citizens of the Republic of Moldova in order to alleviate the impact of the crises of recent years – the COVID-19 pandemic, the energy crisis, the crisis caused by the war in Ukraine. Those crisis disproportionately affect vulnerable people. In this context, the collaboration with the civil society is particularly important. Thanks to the two specialized vehicles equipped with refrigeration systems, the Food Bank’s ability to support social services supporting vulnerable people will be significantly improved.”
The Food Bank embodies a structure performed at the international level through which surplus food, safe for consumption but at risk of being wasted by the operators in the agri-food chain, is donated to the Food Bank. This food is then redistributed to charitable organisations assisting people in need.
Igor Belei, Executive Director of I.R.M.S. Diaconia, pointed out
“The Food Bank is an innovative mechanism meant to reduce food waste and, at the same time, the number of people affected by hunger and malnutrition. We appreciate the fact that the European Union is with the people at the edge of existence. Today’s gesture, but also the complex support received from the project, strengthen the capacity of the Food Bank and contributes to the creation of an extremely necessary cooperation platform in the existing social context.”
Present at the event, Valentina D’Arrigo, Partnership and Capacity Building Manager of the European Food Banks Federation (FEBA) communicated
“Since 2022, Banca de Alimente Moldova is an Associate Member of FEBA, a European non-profit network focused on the recovery and redistribution of surplus food. We believe that this donation will make a valuable contribution to the work of the Food Bank and will be an important support for the Food Bank’s team to reach as many people in need as possible.”
At the same time, within the project, the operational capacity of the Food Bank will be improved through an online platform. Donors of food products will be able to indicate through the platform the amount of products available, and charitable organisations will be able to access them according to their location.
Currently, the Food Bank collaborates with 50 charities across the country, and in the next two years their number is to be doubled and around 3,000 people in need will have access to food.
Ludmila Malcoci, executive director of Keystone Moldova, highlighted:
“Statistics show that the majority of people who use social canteens are elderly or disabled people. For these beneficiaries, the lunch offered by the social canteen is the only hot meal of the day. In this context, it is essential to capitalize on every opportunity to reduce the food insecurity of vulnerable groups.”
The project “Partnerships for inclusive and resilient social canteen services” is financed by the European Union, co-financed and implemented by I.P. “Keystone Moldova”, A.O. ,, Concord. Social Projects’‘ and I.R.M.S. ,, Diaconia.
The project implementation period is 01/01/2022 – 31/12/2024 with a total value of around EUR 1.3 million.
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