Distribute unsold fresh food from supermarkets to those most in need with a cargobike. "Recuperiamoci. Let's give life back to food" is the new important project of social solidarity in favor of people living in situations of particular economic hardship, which combines together the fight against waste, solidarity and sustainable mobility.
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Distribute unsold fresh foods from supermarkets to those most in need with one cargobike. "Let's recover. Let's bring food back to life"Is the new important social solidarity project in favor of people living in situations of particular economic hardship, which brings together fight against waste, solidarity and sustainable mobility.
Promoted by Caritas, Food Bank and Vincentian Volunteer Groups, in particular 'Casa Sappa', which aim to network to match the supply of surpluses of fresh food from supermarkets and shops with the potential demand of 'consumers without purchasing power', the project it will help citizens in poverty who are hungry bringing them food aid aboard a cargo bike.
The transport cycle, equipped with special rear box with special containers that allow the storage of fresh foods for the time necessary for their distribution, it is an eco-sustainable vehicle that can therefore circulate in every part of the city, even in the streets closed to car traffic. And with zero emissions. The project guarantees from early August to approx 100 families of Alexandria a weekly shopping. Every evening, at 19.30 pm, the special cargo bike passes, in fact, in the two bakeries in the center that have already joined to collect about 30-35 kilos of products, in addition to the 10-12 liters of milk and derivatives recovered from supermarkets, which are then redistributed, in a quick and functional way, to the hostel, the women's reception center and the 'Tavola amica'.
“The national experiences - explains Marco Santi, president of Opere di Giustizia e Carità - show how annually 4 thousand tons of edible foods are thrown into the garbage with a waste of 4 billion euros. Promoting the collection of these foods constitutes an additional resource to the services that our association manages for people in difficulty, with the canteen and the men's and women's hostels. Through this new initiative, it is intended to guarantee a substantial number of families, at least 100, one weekly fresh food shopping, monitoring the effects of this aid on the behavior and any changes in the starting condition of the beneficiaries ".
First partner of the project is the Volunteer Service Center which, through the Piedmont Special Voluntary Fund, provided an economic contribution used for the purchase of a special means of transport, the cargo bike. Cissaca, Asl, Diocesi and Cooperativa Company make available volunteers who take care of coordination, the selection of beneficiaries and also the development of monitoring tools. In particular, the Diocese grants in free loan for use in the kitchen, as well as equipment and a warehouse at the former Santa Chiara Seminary. The goal for the immediate future is to assist more and more families, in addition to the ten who already come every day to collect bread and other products.
The project, in this first phase, will last one year. But the hope, underlines Giampaolo Mortara, director of Caritas, "is that it will not only achieve the results it has set itself at the outset but surpass them". This is why Mortara launches a appeal to supermarkets and grocery stores in Alexandria to join the team: "Our cargo bike and our volunteers are ready and can easily reach them in any part of the city". Why join? Because I know it deals with a concrete answer to the growing poverty that proposes a beautiful one reciprocity model based on the gift. Here is an example of an economy of reciprocity capable of affecting the culture of waste and inducing people to rethink their lifestyles and consumption styles.
Roberta Ragni
Read also:
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- North East zero waste: the commitment of 100 mayors against food waste
