The Funchal City Council starts this week to combat the isolation of the elderly in the municipality, ensuring the delivery of essential goods such as fruit and vegetables, using the fleet of municipal vehicles.
President Miguel Silva Gouveia explains that “this is a measure to face the current constraints to the movement of our older population, as determined by the state of emergency, so it is very important to reduce physical travel outside by these citizens, as well such as the use of public transport. Since, unlike canned goods, these are quickly perishable and frequently consumed products, this will also be a way to help our merchants dispose of fresh regional fruits and vegetables, from the spaces that remain open in the Municipal Markets. ”
Miguel Silva Gouveia underlines that, at this moment, “it is equally important to promote initiatives to support the local economy, which contribute to the maintenance of jobs, this being an initiative that can help to create value in the entire chain, in terms of production , transport and marketing, valuing the role of Municipal Markets and promoting their proximity to residents of the municipality. We also guarantee that increased hygiene rules will be observed throughout this process. ”
The ‘Mercado em Casa’ initiative ensures the free transport of food products by the Municipality, namely fruits and vegetables, which will be purchased from traders in the Municipal Markets of Lavradores and Penteada. Delivery teams will be composed of a municipal official and a market trader, and payment is made upon delivery to the trader accompanying the driver. The prices charged will be the same as those sold in the Municipal Markets and will be confirmed to whoever places the order, before delivery.
This free delivery service covers elderly people living in the municipality of Funchal, or the households where they are located, considering, for this purpose, people aged 65 or over. Orders will be placed by phone 291 214 083, from 9 am to 12 pm, or via email mercadoemcasa@cm-funchal.pt, for example, if the order is placed by a third party. When ordering, the elderly person, or whoever represents him, must indicate his full name, age, exact address, telephone contact and TIN.
Deliveries will be made daily, on a first-come, first-served basis, until 1 pm, and although this is subject to the number of orders, the Municipality estimates that it will be possible to deliver orders to people’s homes on the same day. The supply of products will be assured by active traders, on a rotating basis, but any loyalty relationship that a certain elderly person may have with a certain trader will be safeguarded.