Gran Recapte food drive kicks off with 15,000 volunteers across Catalonia

The Gran Recapte, or the Great Food Drive in English, organized annually by the Food Bank Foundation, kicked off its 18th edition Friday with more than 2,000 collection points and about 15,000 volunteers across Catalonia. 

The launch event took place at the Mercat del Clot in Barcelona. The main drive runs through Saturday, and financial contributions will be accepted until the end of November.

As in previous years, the campaign combines the collection of goods with monetary donations, which are used to buy and distribute food. This year, a new record of nine municipal markets in Barcelona are taking part, collecting donations to buy items directly from their own stalls.

The goal is to collect basic staples such as milk, oil, rice, pasta, legumes, canned fish and meat, and baby products, for what organizers say are the 170,000 people in Catalonia who need food assistance every month.

Elisabet Viladomiu, director of the Barcelona Food Bank, said that besides donating at participating locations, people can give money through the organization's website, by phone or through Bizum, a Spanish mobile payment service. 

The markets taking part are Hostafrancs, Sants, Santa Caterina, La Barceloneta, Sagrada Família, El Ninot, Sarrià, El Clot and Montserrat. 

Raúl Moreno, the Catalan minister for social rights and inclusion, said 24% of the Catalan population is at risk of social exclusion, largely because of rising housing costs and grocery prices.