Foodbanks are like “first aid” for people experiencing food insecurity in Czechia

About one million people live on the poverty line here in Czechia – that’s nearly one tenth of the country’s population. This past weekend, a spring food collection was hosted by the Czech Federation of Food Banks and will continue to accept donations online till the end of the month. I asked the Federation’s spokesperson, Vendula Seifertová, to tell me how it went.

Photo: Česká federace potravinových bank, z.s.

“The spring food collection this weekend gathered 467 tonnes of food and everyday drugstore goods. But the drive is not over yet – you can still donate goods online until April 23.”

Who were the donors that were giving the goods?

“It was really the people within the country. We installed our stands in over 2,000 stores within the Czech Republic, and the consumers who went shopping joined in to support our food collection.”

So it was really a nationwide initiative?

“Exactly – in small towns, cities, and villages, people joined in to support.”

Was the amount of donations higher than usual this year?

“It’s almost plus or minus the same for the spring collection, but we are not at the end. Once the online shopping ends on April 23rd, we will be able to see if this donation period accumulated more or less than usual.”

So there’s still time to break a record!

“Yes, but of course we aren’t trying to break a record – our target is to help the most people possible.”

Photo: Česká federace potravinových bank, z.s.

I’m curious, has there been an increase in demand for foodbank use amongst Czech society in recent years? Are more people having to go to the foodbank to fill their fridges here?

“The short answer is unfortunately yes. In the Czech Republic, one million people live on the poverty line, and last year we distributed our food help to only 400,000 people. There are still a lot of people who live from one salary to another, and the food help is the immediate, quick help they can get in their lives.”

I’m from Canada originally, and when we talk about foodbanks, we often talk about them as a “band aid solution”, because it temporarily solves the problem of food insecurity, but doesn’t get to the root of the problem when it comes to lifting people out of poverty. Does more need to be done to really address poverty in Czech society?

“We are really the first line of help, so we deliver our services, and then we hope that the social support system is able to help people with the rest. We are really like first aid within society.”