Portugal's Food Bank Against Hunger is launching an appeal across the nation this coming weekend, December 1st and 2nd, when 40,000 volunteers will be collecting food from customers in more than 2,000 supermarkets, 140 of them in the Algarve.
The campaign runs on until December 9th, on-line, (HERE) where people can donate money to help build up stocks of essentials for those that can’t afford them.
The Food Bank's goal is to encourage shoppers to buy a few extra items for those in need. This food then is sent to 21 Food Bank centres from where it is passed on to 2,600 grass roots organisations which distribute to those in the community that are in need.
As for the Algarve, the food bank commented as follows:
How many poor families benefit from the Food Bank in the Algarve?
15,500 people
Has the number of poor families declined last year?
We have 1,000 fewer than last year.
How many supermarkets will participate in the Algarve?
140 outlets
How many volunteers will participate in the Algarve?
There will be 2,500 volunteers
When did the food bank collections begin?
Food collection began in the first year that the Food Bank against Hunger Algarve was established, in 2007
What are the types of donations needed on December 1st and 2nd?
The necessary foods are non-perishable goods, e.g. milk, pasta, rice, olive oil, fish preserves, legumes, sausages, biscuits, cereals, flour and sugar.
The Algarve has two distribution centres, Portimão and Faro, which have benefitted in the past from the generosity of the Rotary e-Club Porches raising funds for a new forklift (HERE) and Rotary Club Estoi Palace donating funds for a new chilled truck for the Faro distribution centre (HERE), but it is the generosity of shoppers and online donors that enable the Food Bank centres to receive essential supplies in the pre-Christmas period, which, when distributed, often make the difference between going hungry and being able to make a meal, however rudimentary.
