On Saturday, Czechs donated 438 tons of goods in the spring round of the Food Collection, which took place in 1540 stores. Although this is more than the amount collected in the previous year, it is less than the 520 tons piled last fall. However, the collection will continue in online stores over the next week.
Food banks will distribute customer donations to people in need, including lonely seniors, single parents, families in need, and others. According to the Czech Federation of Food Banks, the number of people in need has been increasing continuously due to high inflation and the resulting high prices of basic needs such as energy.
The collection is held twice a year, in spring and fall. Last year, the Czech Federation of Food Banks supported 300,000 people, 30% more than in 2021. From 2013 to last year, over 4200 tons of food were collected, corresponding to about 8.4 million servings of food.
All the major retail chains participated in the spring round, including Albert, Billa, COOP, dm drogerie markt, Globus, Kaufland, Lidl, Makro, Penny, Rossmann, and Tesco. Online stores like Košík, Rohlík, and iTesco participated in the event. The number of stores participating in the collection has been increasing yearly, along with the number of volunteers who help organize the event.