People donate record amount of food and dry goods for the needy

Over 330 tons of food and 52 tons of dry goods were donated to Czech charities and NGOs in the National Food Collection held this weekend. That is the best result since the tradition was launched seven years ago. The goods will be distributed among the country’s close to 24,000 homeless people and the 1.5 million living on the poverty line.

Photo: Eva Turečková

A record number of individuals, supermarket chains and producers chipped in to provide a record number of goods for those in need this past weekend. 754 shops and chain stores, among them Albert, Billa, Kaufland, Tesco, Lidl and Globus as well as 4,500 volunteers went out of their way to encourage people to donate goods, some preparing special packages of non-perishable products, others placing volunteers inside the stores to assist shoppers in selecting the right products. Tesco and Rohlik provided the same service for E-shoppers, with Rohlik offering special packages to the tune of 150, 300, 500 and 700 crowns.

Due to the growing success of these collections and the generosity of donors the National Food Collection was held twice this year, starting a new tradition. The head of the Czech Federation of Food Banks Veronika Láchová expressed her gratitude for the enthusiasm with which an increasing number of stores engaged in the project, saying that the record donations were the result of growing public awareness of the now bi-annual collection and the fact that with so many stores involved people were able to donate goods close to home.

In the coming days and weeks the food will be distributed among those in need and the socially weaker groups of the population such as seniors, single mothers, orphanages and old age homes as well as to the homeless.

Donations online will continue until December 3rd. This form of charity has attracted a large number of companies and associations.