Donations to Food Banks, at “catastrophic” levels: “Inflation is being worse than covid”

Food banks are overwhelmed. “The situation is almost catastrophic, inflation is worse than the covid-19 crisis, which caused a very positive wave of solidarity for us, but at this time, families are more cautious with their expenses, it is normal, they have afraid and they want to protect their own family, when there is uncertainty the economy contracts”, assures Pedro Llorca, president of the Spanish Federation of Food Banks (Fesbal) and of the Food Bank of Las Palmas.”After two years suffering from the long process of the pandemic, we received 2022 with the illusion of having overcome this problem, but the invasion of Ukraine came and now we find ourselves in a very complex situation worldwide. It is the perfect storm, we have not come out of a complicated situation when another has arrived This war has caused the blockade of Russian gas to all the countries that are not in its sphere of power.Electricity has become worryingly more expensive and consequently food. motto is transferred to the beneficiary whom we cannot serve as we have done until very recently,” says Llorca. 20% more people who need help La Fesbal warns, therefore, of a scenario of “social emergency that is making the food poverty” in Spain, the Food Banks serve 1.5 million people a day at the state level. “With the rise in prices and the consequences of the war in Ukraine, everything indicates that demand is going to grow and we estimate a 20% rise in the number of people who will go to food banks this year in search of help. The numbers are worrying.” Llorca emphasizes that food banks are used to fighting to cushion the impact of families, but the horizon looks quite dark. The solidarity of the people is essential, because there are many people who do not have enough to eat. Summer is over and with it the work of the summer season. Many people are going to return to unemployment and they will need help”. That is why they want to call on companies and individuals to continue collaborating with food banks so that they can distribute more food among their entities and beneficiaries. 15% less foodThe banks of food have distributed 15% less food so far this year compared to the same period in 2021 due to a decrease in donations and surpluses they receive from individuals, companies, organizations and institutions due to inflation. With this storm situation in which we find ourselves, we cannot attend to as many people as before.The complaint focuses above all on the basic food basket whose donations are being affected by inflation: milk (which is the most demanded product), legumes precooked and dry, oil, canned meat and fish and baby food Food and non-alcoholic beverages rose in July by 13.5% compared to the same month of 2021 and was one of the categories that contributed the most to general inflation reaching 10.8%. Llorca explained that this high inflation “immediately influences the basic basket of food banks, that have a minimum supply”, so by reducing the donations and the surpluses they receive, there is a risk that there will be no stock of some of the basic products to distribute. Partial shortage”There is a partial shortage, for the moment we hold on but there are influencing factors. The accumulation of containers in the ports of large countries has done a lot of damage”, says the president of Fesbal. The food banks “do everything possible” so that this does not happen and to be able to take the most kilos and liters of food “with quality criteria and a balanced diet. “For example, if canned fruit is necessary, we do not buy it because it is not essential for food.” When some food is scarce, the food banks and Fesbal itself buy it with the funds they have from the monetary donations they receive,” explains Llorca. But, it is possible that some food bank has had to lower the kilo/liter ratio per beneficiary, which in 2021 was 128 kilos/liters per beneficiary per year, commented the president of Fesbal. Drought and global warming The organization does not take its eyes off drought either, which directly affects agri-food production and can cause in the coming months there will be fewer products on the market and with a higher price, which has a negative impact on donations. For now, the food banks have closed the summer distribution and now they plan to carry out the second phase of an aid program for disadvantaged people financed 85% by the European Commission and 15% by the Spanish State Thanks to this program, from the second half of September an to distribute more than 25.3 million kilos/liters of food. “And not to forget the illusion we have for the Great Collection. It will be from November 25 to 27 and this year we take back what the pandemic took from us. The closeness of people, each one choosing the product they want to give to those most in need. The online donation of these two years of pandemic has had advantages, but also drawbacks. We return with great enthusiasm and ask for and need the solidarity that the Spanish have always shown. We hope for a powerful response that will make us reach as many families as possible”, Llorca concludes.