Last weekend’s anti-hunger campaign by the Food Bank in the Algarve collected donations totalling 115 tons, down 10 tons from last May’s campaign.
At the national level, the Food Banks Against Hunger raised 1,602 tonnes of food, down 243 tonnes from the previous year, which according to the Federation of Food Banks can be explained "mainly by the long holiday weekend, which meant that many people were away from their usual places of residence which changed their usual buying habits."
"My words are of thanks to all who participated. We never tire of emphasising the continuing generosity of the Portuguese, both the donors and the volunteers who help in the organisation.
“After almost thirty years, they continue to believe in this idea, contributing with their individual help to give great collective help to the more than 400,000 of their fellow citizens who still are facing food shortages," said Isabel Jonet, the president of the national Federation of Food Banks.
The food collected will begin to be distributed next week, helping to meet the needs of around 400,000 people supported by 2,600 institutions, either through food baskets or through cooked meals served in nursing homes and social canteens.
Most of the donated food was in the form of non-perishable products such as milk, rice, olive oil, pasta, sugar and canned goods, "also representing an adherence to the idea promoted by the Food Bank of sharing" concludes the Federation of Food Banks.
A total of 42,000 volunteers worked in 2,000 stores in the national campaign.
Those who did not have the opportunity to contribute at the weekend can do so until June 10 through the "Ajuda Vale" campaign with product vouchers available at supermarkets as well as the online donation portal.
