Prague, Nov 23 (CTK) – Czech individuals and companies donated 236 tonnes of food to the Saturday national food collection, 64 tonnes more than a year ago, Jakub Unger, from the organising Business for Society, told journalists yesterday.
The national food collection was held for the first time in autumn 2013.
This time, it was joined by 470 shops where the clients could buy food for those in need and donate it to them.
The collected food will be sent to the “food banks.” There are 12 of them in the Czech Republic.
The food will be gained by the NGOs that redistribute it among those in need.
The food is given to the mothers with children in asylum homes, the homeless and elderly.
The food banks are NGOs that gather food not only from individual donors, but also the food products shortly before their time of consumption expires and those that cannot be sold due to their damaged packaging.
Although the Czech Republic is one of European countries with the lowest proportion of the poor, their number is rising.
Last year, poverty and exclusion from society were threats to 14.8 percent of Czechs. As the economy is now growing, the number may diminish.
pv/dr/hol
