Public in Spain urged to donate food for Great Collection

THE Spanish Food Bank Federation is running its annual Gran Recogida de Alimentos (Great Food Collection) on Friday November 27 and Saturday November 28 with an aim to collect more than 21 million kilos of food.

There are 10,100 collection points at many supermarkets across the country (Mercadona, Lidl, Carrefour, Supersol, Hipercor and many other chains) manned by 110,000 volunteers who have given their time for the cause.

The main items needed this year, the Federation has said, are: milk, oil, tins of fish and meat, baby food and legumes, preferably in jars rather than dried as those who need the food also report they often have no means of cooking.

Federation president Nicolas Palacios has put out a call to the public to take part as, although the recession seems to have reached its end, there are still thousands of families in need.

The Federation’s aim is to manage to reach the 115 kilos of food per person per year recommended by the FAO ,which translates to 300 grams per person per day.

This year, for the first time, the Federation is also offering the chance to donate via a mobile app which can be used all year round. The free app is available for Android and Apple phones and users can choose from a range of food packages priced between €5 and €25 which can be paid for with a credit card or through PayPal.

Another option is to send a text message with the word ‘alimentar’ to 28052.

Palacios explained that the amount of food collected at the annual Great Collection amounts to 20 per cent of the total amount food banks distribute every year.