Gran Recapte food drive calls for collaboration ahead of 2024 uncertainty 

Banc dels Aliments, the main foodbank in Catalonia, has called for citizens to participate in the Gran Recapte, a food drive that takes place across Catalonia on November 24 and 25.  

The organization is looking for 18,000 volunteers, 2,000 more than in last year, to cover 2,100 collection points across the Catalan territory. 

The president of the food bank in Barcelona, Lluís Fatjó-Vilas, explained that the campaign aims to cover four months of food, expanding last year’s coverage by a month.  

The vice-president of Banc dels Aliments in Barcelona, Roser Brutau, has emphasized that "this year's Gran Recapte is taking place in a difficult moment as Catalan society has been really affected and has less resources than ever to face poverty." 

That is why Brutau has called on everyone to participate, either as a volunteer or, by donating food or money. 

The donations, preferably provisions like milk, cooking oil, and nonperishable foods, will be collected in supermarkets around Catalonia during the last weekend of November. Money donations can be made from November 30 through granrecapte.com or Bizum until December 15.  

Lluís Fatjó-Vilas has also emphasized that the situation is "very complicated", as circumstances like inflation and an increase in the cost of life has worsened poverty levels. 

The 2022 edition of Gran Recapte collected €6.2 million in donations, but because of inflation, that results in fewer kilos of food bought.  

Banc dels Aliments foresees a difficult scenario in 2024, as organizations will have to adapt to a change in the model of food supply because of the EU's new FEAD program (European Aid Fund for the Most Disadvantaged People).  

Fatjó-Vilas has asked authorities to postpone the change since, according to Banc dels Aliments, this new criteria could result in 200,000 people going without food support,accounting for 90% of the beneficiaries.