TURIN. In the first four months of 2024, food receipts in the warehouses of the Piedmont Food Bank decreased by 47.1% compared to 2023, going from 2,592 to 1,370 tonnes. A drastic reduction, due to delays in the supply of AGEA (Agricultural Disbursements Agency) products, financed by the FEAD (Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived), which in the same period recorded a drop of 61.8%, from 2,041 tonnes in 2023 to 779 tonnes in 2024.
«It is essential – explains Salvatore Collarino, president of the Piedmont Food Bank – that the delays and bureaucratic impediments that are hindering the deliveries of food coming from public tenders covered by funds already allocated by European and national authorities are resolved. The ones paying the bill for these delays, which are beyond our control and cannot be resolved at a local level, are the people in difficulty, who are receiving much lighter shopping bags. We were able to deliver around 6 kilos of food per person every month, while now we are down to 3 kilos, despite having activated all alternative supply channels and are using up our warehouses”.
Total warehouse distribution decreased by 39.9%falling from 2,442 to 1,467 tonnes, while that of AGEA fell by 37.5%, going from 1,970 to 1,231 tonnes.
