6,700 tonnes of food donated in about 11 thousand supermarkets in a single day.
The National Food Collection Day (Giornata Nazionale della Colletta Alimentare) started again without the Covid-related restrictions of the last two years. This day was made possible by the many people who once again chose to roll up their sleeves, to get directly involved without delegating to others the responsibility of a gesture of solidarity which educates in charity and thus building the community.
The volunteers’ willingness and enthusiasm was great, and there were many testimonies from people who generously donated. In a situation of clear economic difficulty, it is comforting that the quantities collected
amounted to some 6,700 tonnes.
Never before so many people have apologised with a sorry look on their faces because they were unable to donate more: a sign of generosity, of a concern for others, of an
attachment to the National Food Collection Day, but also of worrying prospects.
In recent months, the number of people who have turned to the charitable organisations supported by the Banco Alimentare has increased by about 85,000 units, reaching a total of 1,750,000 people assisted.
In recent days Banco Alimentare has received many phone calls and messages from people urgently asking where they could find food aid.
As well as in person, we have also received many expressions of gratitude via social media, for which we are grateful. A touching testimony from a food aid recipient who wrote: “There is a beautiful
chain of humanity among the volunteers and I would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of them for how much love and sincerity they put into helping us and not making us feel like failures.”
The severe bad weather throughout the South, which unfortunately also claimed victims, whose thoughts accompanied everyone throughout the day, was a limitation on the activities of the National Food Collection Day, which recorded only a slight decrease in donated goods of about 4 per cent compared to 2021, with an increase value, however, considering that inflation exceeded +13.5% for food.
All this encourages us to continue our daily work of recovering and redistributing surplus food from the agri-food chain. But also to invite everyone to continue the online food collection on the platforms of Amazon, Carrefour, Easycoop and Esselunga: a further opportunity to help us support those in need.
We thank all those who with their commitment and sacrifice made possible the manifestation of such great sharing and solidarity.
Read the original press release here.
