Banco Alimentar Contra a Fome (National Food Bank Against Hunger) promotes a national food collection campaign between this Thursday and June 6th through coupons available in supermarkets and online donations, the institution announced today.
The initiative runs through Ajuda Vale and through the alimentestaideia.pt website, since security measures related to the covid-19 pandemic still prevent the traditional collection of food from volunteers, according to the organization.
“Unfortunately, there are now thousands of families that rely on our campaigns to get food on the table,” said Isabel Jonet, President of the Portuguese Federation of Food Banks Against Hunger, in a statement released today.
Under the motto “At our table there is always room for one more”, the campaign aims to raise awareness among the population to contribute “in support of families that experience situations of food shortage every day”.
Participation can be done through the Ajuda Vale modality, which has already been used in previous campaigns, and which is based on the contribution through vouchers for products available until May 31 at supermarket checkouts.
Each voucher has a specific bar code associated with the products that are intended to be donated. Banco Alimentar also offers the online donation portal alimentestaideia.pt, where you can choose perishable goods to donate.
According to data from the Portuguese Federation of Food Banks Against Hunger, last year, the 21 Food Banks operating in Portugal distributed 29,474 tons of food (with an estimated value of 41.2 million euros), in an average movement of 165 tons per business day.
In partnership with about 2,700 institutions and entities, which operate on the ground, accompanied by the Food Bank of the respective region, the goods collected contributed to the feeding of 450,000 people “with proven needs”, in the form of baskets or cooked meals.
The Food Bank was created in Portugal in 1991. Currently, there are 21 Food Banks in the areas of Abrantes, Algarve, Aveiro, Beja, Braga, Castelo Branco, Coimbra, Cova da Beira, Évora, Leiria-Fátima, Lisbon, Madeira, Zona West, Portalegre, Porto, São Miguel, Santarém, Setúbal, Terceira, Viana do Castelo and Viseu.