A record 719 tonnes of goods were collected in shops across the Czech Republic on Saturday, in the autumn round of the national food collection. The amount collected was the highest in the event’s 12-year history and 15% more than last year, according to the Czech Federation of Food Banks.
The public donated 645 tonnes of food and 74 tonnes of toiletries and household goods. Donations are still open via online shops until Tuesday, 18 November, said representatives of the food banks and the Czech Confederation of Commerce and Tourism.
Around 2,800 brick-and-mortar stores and over 6,000 volunteers joined the collection on Saturday.
Food collection has been held in the Czech Republic since 2013 and twice a year since 2019, in the spring and autumn. This year’s spring round collected 565 tonnes of goods, and about 624 tonnes were collected last autumn.
Thousands of customers across the country participated in the Saturday collection, according to the organisers. In stores, they donated basic non-perishable food and drugstore items for the food banks. The collection will provide one-tenth of the required volume of non-perishable food, according to the Federation.
Single mothers are the most frequent recipients of support from food banks, as well as lone seniors, families in crisis, homeless people, and people with disabilities.
“It is admirable how many people can unite for a simple but powerful goal – to help others. The food collection is not just about food, but about hope, solidarity and dignity,” said Ales Slavicek, chairman of the Czech Federation of Food Banks.
The importance of food banks has been growing in the Czech Republic. More than 430,000 people used their services last year, and the number of aid recipients has been growing every year, Agriculture Minister Marek Vyborny (Christian Democrats, KDU-CSL) said on Saturday.
He said the state’s contribution to the development and operation of food banks has risen to more than CZK 100 million this year.
