The European Union has provided two vehicles to the Food Bank

The European Union has provided two vehicles to make the functioning of the Food Bank more efficient. These are two specialised vehicles equipped with refrigeration systems that will make it possible to safely deliver perishable food collected by the bank for social services across the country.

This support is provided by the European Union as the part of “Partnerships for Inclusive and Resilient Social Canteen Services” project. Its aim is to improve social canteen services in the Republic of Moldova.

“The European Union provides continuous support to the citizens of the Republic of Moldova in order to improve the impact of the crises in recent years – Covid 19 pandemic, energy crisis, the crisis caused by the war in Ukraine. Crisis situations disproportionately affect people from vulnerable groups. In this context, cooperation with civil society is particularly important. Thanks to the two specialised vehicles equipped with refrigeration systems, the Bank’s capacity of supporting social services, which help people from vulnerable groups, will be significantly improved”, mentioned Ms. Magdalena Müller-Uri, Head of Cooperation of the EU-Delegation to the Republic of Moldova.

The Food Bank is a mechanism practiced at an international level to prevent food waste. It ensures the collection of food surplus from operators in the agri-food chain, the storage and further redistribution to social services that support vulnerable groups, increasing access to food for people affected by food poverty.

The Food Bank is an innovative mechanism by which we aim to reduce food waste and the number of people affected by hunger and malnutrition. We appreciate the fact that the European Union supports people who suffer from high rates of poverty. Today’s event, as well as the complex assistance that is part of the project, will consolidate the capacity of the Bank and contribute to the creation of a platform for cooperation that is extremely necessary in the current social context”, said Igor Belei, executive director of P.I.S.M. „Diaconia”.

“Since 2022, the Food Bank Service in Moldova has been an associate member of the European Federation of Food Banks (FEBA), a European non-profit network dedicated to food recovery and redistribution. We believe that this donation will be a valuable input for the operation of the Food Bank and an essential support for the bank’s team to help as many people in need as possible”, said Valentina D’Arrigo, Partnerships and Capacity Building Manager at European Food Banks Federation (FEBA).

Furthermore, within the project, the capacity of the Food Bank operation will be enhanced through an online platform. Food donors will be able to indicate the amount of food available via the platform and social services will access it according to their regional location.The Bank is currently working with 30 social services across the country. Their number will double over the next two years and due to food recovery, around 5,000 people from vulnerable groups will have access to food.

“Statistics show that most people that go to social canteens are elderly or disabled. The lunch offered by the social canteen is the only hot meal of the day for these beneficiaries. In this context, it is essential to take advantage of every opportunity to reduce nutrition insecurity of vulnerable groups”, mentioned Ludmila Malcoci, executive director of P.I. „Keystone Moldova”.

The project „Partnerships for Inclusive and Resilient Social Canteen Services” is funded by the European Union, co-founded and implemented by P.I. „Keystone Moldova”, P.A. „Concordia. Social Projects” and P.I.S.M. „Diaconia”.

The implementation period of the project is 1 January 2022 – 31 December 2024 with a total value of 1,327,609 EUR.