Córdoba

The Medina Azahara Food Bank in Córdoba will begin the Great Collection of 2023 this Friday, November 24. With the aim of fighting hunger and malnutrition by helping those who need it most without profit, the institution has launched its usual solidarity campaign that will be valid until next Thursday, November 30 in a total of 170 food establishments spread throughout the province of Cordoba.

Only large platforms will maintain the Great Collection of 2023 until Thursday, November 30, since those supermarkets with lower capacity can donate from Friday the 24th to Sunday the 26th of the same month. This was explained this Monday by the president of the Córdoba Food Bank, Rafael Revuelto, who has called on Córdoba society to donate -preferably with financial contribution instead of with food – and thus “the warehouses are filled for those most in need.”

The institution hopes to at least reach the figures of last year’s Great Collection, with which a total of 172,000 euros and more than 36,000 kilograms and liters of food. That is why “a large amount of food is needed and the more that is collected, the better”, as stated by Revuelto, who has emphasized that “Cordoban society is very generous.”

And the Córdoba Food Bank requires the collaboration of the people of Córdoba now more than ever. To carry out the Great Collection of 2023, the institution needs the help of 1,200 volunteers that are distributed by the different supermarkets. Especially in the different municipalities of the province, especially in La Carlota, which is the town where helpers are most needed. Those who wish to collaborate as volunteers must do so by registering at the website of the Medina Azahara Food Bank or through the institution’s telephone number.

“All the food chains in the province are going to participate. We have to remember that what is best for us is the financial donation, despite the fact that in some areas they will be mixed with the donation of non-perishable food as well. The money, for As far as we know, it stays on the surfaces and then it is the Food Bank who will buy the necessary food with the amount collected“, explained the procedure, the vice president and coordinator of the institution, Juan José Cas.

Both the monetary donation and the Place non-perishable food in cardboard tubs that will be available in supermarkets can be carried out from this Friday, November 25 in the following establishments: Aldi, Carrefour, Supeco, Cash Fresh, Covirán, El Jamón, Eroski, García Valero, Garvín, Más Ahorro, Piedra, Próxima, Proxi, Óptima, Sieta Villas, Suma, Super Alcoop, Pedro Ramírez and Valenzuela.

Many of these food chains, as Revuelto has specified, invite donations to be made economically online, that is, once a purchase is going to be made, although many of them will also have cardboard boxes to donate food. as milk, oil or infant foodwhich is what is needed most, as confirmed by the Medina Azahara Food Bank.

This is how this Great Collection campaign will work, which will be marked by inflation, which “is going to be a big problem because “It is increasingly difficult for families to support themselves financially and retirees do not receive it with their pension.”, as the president of the Food Bank has lamented. Revuelto has also called for citizen collaboration because “European aid from the Next Generation Funds ends in 2024 and nothing is known yet, which means that next year will be hard.”

Figures until October 2023

The Medina Azahara Food Bank of Córdoba, of which 156 social entities are part, serves about 30.000 personas. According to the data offered by the institution, in 2023, until the month of October specifically, within the framework of the Fead program (fruits and vegetables) they have received a total of 347,646 kilograms of fresh products. So far this year they have distributed 346,680 kilograms of fruits and vegetables, that is, an average of 0.131 kilos per person (lower than the average of 0.190 per person in 2022).

The dry food program has collected a total of 1,435,607 kilograms between January and October, highlighting milk, which represents 31.38% of the products (an increase of 11.54% compared to last year). The losses have also stood out with 419,073 kilograms, 29.19% of the total (increase of 7.24%).

The food distribution has been described by the Food Bank as “a success”, since they have reached the 1,342,850 kilograms, 43,000 more than last year. In addition, they have reached 18,637 beneficiaries (246 more than in 2022), each having received 72.05 kilograms of food. As the institution has added, it is in the process of distributing Phase II of the FEAD (European funds and the Government of Spain), which represents more than 400,000 kilograms of food for the people of Córdoba who need it.