The Food Bank assists in two years the double of people in the Greater Barcelona area

Barcelona (ACN).- A very real way of detecting the effects of the economic crisis can be seen in the latest figures published by the Food Bank which state that since 2009 they have doubled their number of users; they now assist over 118,000 people. According to the President of the organisation, Antoni Sansalvadó, “the figure is growing” and “will not change in the short term”. However, an increase in volunteers and financial aid, as offered by the Barcelona City Council is allowing them to start a plan for the distribution of fresh and refrigerated food among the sixty involved entities.

The figures speak for themselves. According to Sansalvadó, “the number of people served in early 2009 in the Barcelona province was 57,000”. But nowadays he said that his organization distributes food “to 118,000 people through all their entities”. This increase means that the Food Bank is helping more than double the number of citizens in just two years. The Bank's President warns that this number “is still growing”. This situation has led Sansalvadó to admit that the organisation is going through “a somewhat distressing time” at the moment.

The President of the Food Bank has warned that the crisis still has negative effects and no improvement is expected. "Everyone knows perfectly well that the number of people needing food aid nowadays is growing, and the reality is that this will not change in the short term", said Sansalvadó, whilst arguing that “it is true that the economy is beginning to revive, but we are still some time from the end of unemployment."

A pioneering plan to transport fresh and refrigerated food

The Food Bank's and Barcelona City Council extended their collaboration agreement. The City Council will participate in a plan that the Food Bank has already started and that, according to Sansalvadó, very few organisations are currently using in Europe. The plan involves the transportation of fresh and refrigerated food to sixty entities prepared to maintain the cold chain. The Food Bank already has 27 chest freezers and 10 refrigerators and, thanks to the contributions that they are getting from institutions and public administrations this service is expected to be extended to all those collaborating entities. The City Council also announced that part of the money deducted from their employees' salary for last September’s general strike –53,800 euros– has gone to help the Food Bank. This figure can be added to the 140,000 euros already provided by the City Council.