SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, Oct 20 (EUROPA PRESS) –
Red Cross and the Spanish Federation of Food Banks (Fesbal) have begun the distribution of more than 1.2 million kilos of food from the 2021 Food Aid Program to 43,673 vulnerable people in the Canary Islands.
Both organizations are responsible, in equal parts, for the distribution of the products of this second phase of the Food Aid Program, 85% co-financed by the European Aid Fund for the Most Disadvantaged (FEAD), and 15% by the national budget.
The FEAD Program contributes to alleviating the worst forms of poverty, providing non-financial assistance to the most disadvantaged people in the form of food and through social inclusion activities.
In the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, 438,436 kilos of food are being delivered to 18,193 vulnerable people, with the following distribution: 339,771 kilos to 14,125 people on the island of Tenerife; 74,539 kilos to 3,127 people on La Palma; 15,354 kilos to 595 people in El Hierro, and 8,772 kilos to 346 people in La Gomera.
In the province of Las Palmas 769,764 kilos of food will be distributed, reaching 25,480 people, of which 330,991 kilos will be delivered to 13,802 people on the island of Gran Canaria; 30,808 kilos will be distributed to 811 vulnerable people in Fuerteventura, and 407,965 kilos to 10,867 people in Lanzarote.
“Food is a fundamental right of all human beings, generally understood as the right to eat with dignity; the right to adequate food, food being an essential element to survive”, highlights María Jesús Gil, head of the Operational Program of Food aid.
During the coming weeks, 1,208,200 kilos of white rice, oil, soluble cocoa, canned tuna, biscuits, cooked chickpeas, milk, canned vegetables, spaghetti and canned fried tomato will be distributed in the Canary Islands. This ‘product basket’ incorporates children’s jars of fruit and chicken in the case of families with children in their care.
In this second distribution, 60% of the total products of the annual amount will be delivered, since this year it will be carried out in two phases, and not in three as on other occasions. In total, with the two phases contemplated by this program, the Institution will deliver 1,925,810 kilos of food.
The Red Cross in the Canary Islands is responsible for distributing the food to 85 authorized distribution partner organizations, among which are 22 local, county and island assemblies of the territorial network, 42 town councils and 21 entities-associations that, in turn, deliver them free of charge to the most disadvantaged people together with accompanying measures.
In order to participate in this program, the delivery organizations must be legally constituted, non-profit making and have the administrative, operational and financial capacity to carry out the free distribution of food among disadvantaged people.
In addition, all organizations offer as a basic accompaniment measure, information on the closest social resources in each province. This information is prepared by the Ministry of Social Rights and the 2030 Agenda, and incorporates information about municipal social service centers, employment offices, and non-profit social entities.
In each of the phases, the Spanish Red Cross distributes the food among the more than 120 storage and distribution centers that it has in all the provinces, including the islands, Ceuta and Melilla.
