Lisbon, May 28, 2025 (Lusa) - The Food Bank Against Hunger is holding another food collection campaign this weekend in more than 2,000 supermarkets across the country, involving more than 40,000 volunteers.
This campaign comes at a time when "the poverty rate in Portugal remains very high," according to Isabel Jonet, president of the Portuguese Federation of Food Banks Against Hunger.
The slogan of the campaign, which aims to improve the lives of families in need, is "Your help has a name: the name of the person who will receive it," the Food Bank stated on Wednesday.
Volunteers will make Food Bank bags available in participating stores to anyone who wants to help those most in need, asking them to donate "non-perishable food items" such as milk, canned goods, olive oil, sugar, flour and pasta.
The products will then be sent to the Food Bank warehouses in the respective region, where they will be weighed, sorted and packaged for delivery to the beneficiary organisations, as in previous campaigns.
Participation can also be made through the "Ajuda Vale" (Help Voucher) scheme, already used in previous campaigns, which is based on contributions through product vouchers, which will be available until 8 June in supermarket checkouts.
"At a time when the situation is very difficult for so many families, the Food Bank campaign draws attention to a reality that many are unaware of and mobilises the whole of society for a cause that is greater than each of us. Sharing basic food has a real impact on real people," stresses the president.
Isabel Jonet points out that "the poverty rate in Portugal remains very high, many elderly people are living alone, and the cost of housing represents a very high proportion of already stretched budgets, putting people who have jobs but do not earn enough to meet all their expenses in a vulnerable situation".
Last year, the 21 Food Banks contributed food to more than 360,000 people with proven food needs, in partnership with 2,300 social organisations, and delivered more than 100 tonnes of food per working day, totalling 27,800 tonnes delivered during the year.
DD/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
