Gran Recapte food drive combats food insecurity in Catalonia

Organizers of the Gran Recapte food drive gathered at the Ninot Market Friday morning to kick off the annual initiative. 

"The primary goal of this campaign is to raise awareness that in our society, a society of economic prosperity, there is a significant sector of the population that is struggling, that is living in poverty," said Lluís Fatjó-Vilas i Barbat, president of the Barcelona Food Bank. 

Over 2,000 collection points will be open in markets and supermarkets this Friday and Saturday. The collection points will be staffed by volunteers in blue vests, who will hand out bags and explain what types of food are most needed. 

"From a bag of rice to a liter of milk, everything is appreciated," said Barcelona Food Bank director Elisabet Viladomiu Marnet. She highlighted the important role of the thousands of volunteers who participate, describing the food drive as a "unifying activity" for communities.

Montse Mañach has been a volunteer at a local food bank for seven years. She helps distribute food to people in need every week and assists at collection points during the Gran Recapte.

"For me it's very, very important because it gives me joy, it gives me peace. I've been retired for a few years and the activity means a lot to me," she told Catalan News.

Shoppers can also make donations at supermarket checkouts instead of contributing physical food, or donate online until November 23 through the website www.granrecapte.org. Last year, the Gran Recapte raised over €6 million in food and monetary donations. The goal of this edition is to increase financial contributions, which allow food banks to purchase the food most needed in the coming months.

This marks the 17th edition of the annual food drive, which is one of the region's highest-impact social mobilizations. In Catalonia, 230,000 people receive support from food banks. 

At Friday's event, representatives from Barcelona City Council and the Catalan government called attention to poverty and vulnerability in Catalonia. 

"We must continue working to implement public policies that bring vulnerable families the income they need to be able to meet their expenses, but we continue to need these very significant actions of collecting and gathering surplus food from our society and getting it to these most vulnerable families," said Carolina Homar Cruz, Catalonia's Secretary of Social Affairs and Inclusion.