440 tons of goods for those in need

The 8th National Food Collection has started on Saturday, 21 November in supermarkets all around the Czech Republic. This collection, organized by the Czech Federation of Food Banks, is intended to help bring important food to the families who need it he tmost this Christmas.

In 2019, the collection took place twice for the first time. In the autumn of 2019, 754 stores around the Czech Republic got involved, and 382 tons of goods have been collected for the ones in need. The spring collection was cancelled this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, however, the autumn collection is taking place, despite all the restrictions and is a great success so far.

In the face of assumptions that this year's collection would not cover demand, a record result of 440 tons of goods was announced after the first day. Of these 396 tons of food and 44 tons of hygiene supplies. Veronika Láchová, director of the Czech Federation of Food Banks, confirmed, that this is the biggest number so far in this event and this year they did not expect such a success.

The acquired goods are sorted and handed over by food banks to non-profit organizations, which distribute them to single parents, solitary elderly, families in crisis, the homeless, or people with mental and physical disabilities. Markéta Kneblíková, who is the communication manager of Ipsos (a long-term partner of the Food Collection), stated that among the new applicants were mainly people who lost their jobs due to the pandemic. This year, the collection took place in 603 stores, some of them included Albert, Billa, Globus, Kaufland, or Lidl. Drugstores also joined. Those who did not make it to the shop this Saturday are still welcome to contribute by purchasing an online package at Rohlik.cz or iTesco.