What the Food Bank does
Data on poverty in Italy
The request for help arrived a few days ago. «The shelves of our warehouse are emptying, there is a lack of basic necessities»: speaking is Dario Boggio Marzet, president of the Lombardy Food Bank. Supplies have dropped by 25% compared to last year and the cause can be attributed to at least two factors. «The decrease in surpluses from industry, due to the rationalization of production» on the one hand. On the other hand, “delays in deliveries of food purchased with European and national aid funds for the poor”. A situation that exposes the warehouse in via Papa Giovanni XXXIII to the risk of not finding enough food to respond to requests. The closure of schools worsens the situation: those who end up in the emergency could be minors who will not be guaranteed at least a school meal.
What the Food Bank does
The Food Bank is a non-profit organization that recovers food from around a thousand food companies and donates it to families in difficulty through its local offices. A free exchange, although for the donating companies there is the advantage of reducing storage and disposal costs. In 2023, 119,138 tons of food were distributed to help 1,793,612 people. The Lombardy Food Bank alone assisted 213,589 people (+6% compared to 2022).
The Gadda law
Food waste in Italy is worth almost 16 billion euros a year, 1% of GDP. In 2016, law 166/2016 came into force, first signed by the Honorable Maria Chiara Gadda. Objective to reduce waste along the entire agri-food chain, encouraging the recovery and donation of surplus products. The rules also concern the diffusion of doggy bags in restaurants, communication campaigns, the use of recovered food to feed animals.
Data on poverty in Italy
Out of the 1,127 affiliated charitable structures, the non-profit organization reports, approximately 70% of those assisted are represented by the so-called working poor, people who, despite working, do not have sufficient income to support themselves. «Income from work risks no longer being a barrier to economic hardship» is Boggio Marzet’s comment. «The incidence of poverty among employed people increased by 2.7 points from 4.9 in 2014 to 7.6 in 2023». The appeal is to institutions and the Government to “restore the supply of food”. And to the companies “who we ask to increase the donations to reach the table of the 213,589 assisted people”.
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