The president of Council of Tenerife, Peter Martinhas visited this week the solidarity and sustainable ecological garden with which the José Luis Montesinos Canary Foundation aims to supply the Food Bank of Puerto de la Cruz. Likewise, the project seeks to improve the inclusion and quality of life of those groups that are less favored or at risk of exclusion, focusing on young people, as well as raising awareness about caring for the environment and sustainable development.
The CEO of Citizen Participation and Diversity of the Insular Corporation also participated in the visit, Nauzet Gugliottaan area from which the Cabildo provides support to the Foundation in the care of families who come to the Food Bank.
The mayor of Puerto de la Cruz also attended, Marco Gonzalez, which has given the land for the orchard; as well as those of La Villa de La Orotava and Los Realejos, Francisco Linares and Adolfo González, respectively, as well as representatives of collaborating companies.
The island’s president, Pedro Martín, highlighted the important work carried out by the Foundation, under the direction of its president, Lalo Martín, and assured that he felt “proud that the network of social entities on the Island is launching initiatives such as the orchard, which not only do they help supply the most needy families in the north with quality products, but they also provide an opportunity for people who do not have an occupation to train and become self-sufficient.”
The CEO of Citizen Participation also highlighted the tireless volunteer work carried out by social entities on the Island: “It is incredible to see the number of different projects that arise on the Island and that are based on a totally supportive impulse.”
In addition, it affected the educational character, in addition to the social action that it implies. “It is important that we address realities such as social exclusion from an early age, because we will have a greater chance of success when it comes to achieving the full integration and insertion of people,” he explains. Along these lines, he adds that “protecting minors has always been and must continue to be a priority, since they are the ones who are going to mark our future as a society.”
The Foundation, responsible for the management of the Food Bank of Puerto de la Cruz, has received an aid from the Cabildo of 131,381 euroswithin the direct subsidies granted for humanitarian reasons to the entities associated with the Tenerife Isla Solidaria program that are responsible for distributing food and other essential products.
The start-up of the orchard is accompanied by a training plan that pursues the socio-labour insertion of the people participating in the rural environment, through the daily activity of an organically produced orchard, whose cultivation is in great demand in the current and with great potential for growth.
Likewise, it will cover the realization of educational workshops of coexistence, with which important values and principles are generated among this group when facing their future, with the aim of achieving their individual and social well-being.