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FOOD BANKS CREATED IN THE ALGARVE

The Food Bank Against Hunger in the Algarve, which is better known as BA Algarve, was founded on the 31 st May 2006 alongside APPIA (Associação Pró-Partilha e Inserção do Algarve), the latter of which signed an agreement with the Portuguese Federation of Food Banks Against Hunger (FPBA) on 1st March 2007. Among its founding partners are: Daniel Simões, Eduardo Ramirez, Gabriel Cavaleiro, Isabelle Ramirez, Daniela Anastásio, José Augusto dos Santos, Maria Encarnação Santos, Filomena Cavaleiro, Maria Manuela Paes d’Almeida, Maria Teresa Cavaleiro, Nuno Cabrita Alves (current President) and Susana Gomes.

The overall aim of an institution such as the Food Bank Against Hunger is to combat food waste and work to eradicate food insecurity in lower-income households, in other words, redistribute excess food to areas in which it is lacking. For several years, between 2007 and 2011, BA Algarve distributed an average of over 398 tonnes of food, increasing its distribution to 828 tonnes in 2012. In the years that followed, the institution’s operations increased exponentially, improving and diversifying the food baskets delivered by adding fresh food and integrating people at risk of social exclusion into its teams, thus kicking off an inclusive project. In 2015, the average food basket delivered was made up of 70% fresh food and 30% dry goods.

The number of institutions supported, as well as the number of people, has also been adjusted to the needs of the communities and in response to the difficulties faced nowadays. BA Algarve continues to work to involve at-risk populations, such as former prisoners, people with disabilities, those who have faced long-term unemployment, people recovering from addictions and beneficiaries of social inclusion benefits.

As part of this story, mention must be made of the Wolf Valley Charity Fund, the Food Bank’s most supportive partner, which has contributed more than 100 thousand euros to various social projects. These include purchasing storage containers (saving thousands of euros in cardboard boxes and quadrupling the storage capacity), cold rooms (allowing the institution to receive and distribute fresh products), as well as contributing to BA Algarve being granted the Operational Programme for the Most Deprived, improving the facilities (replacing the existing lighting with LEDs, which improved working conditions, but above all impacting on the facilities’ electrical consumption), among other actions.

It is also worth mentioning that, following the declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Wolf Valley Charity Fund intends to donate more than € 10,000 worth of food to BA Algarve, proving, once again, how valuable a partner WVCF is to the BA.

Over thirteen years of joint work, aiming at benefitting the community and the region, have culminated in more than 17 million kilos of food being distributed, totalling more than 19 million euros in food support and aid through 122 social charities, benefitting around 18,700 people in need.