Food bank donations rose during lockdown
Food donations skyrocketed during the lockdown earlier this year, according to figures released by Greece’s Food Bank ahead of International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste Tuesday.
“The numbers speak for themselves,” Dimitris Nentas, head of the Athens Food Bank told Kathimerini. “As soon as the lockdown began in March, the number of donations from food companies immediately increased,” he said, adding that the Food Bank received 1,088 tons of goods between late March and August compared to 952 tons for the whole of 2019.
Donations rose mainly due to the fact that restaurants, cafes and hotels were obliged to close during the lockdown, leading to a surplus in goods, much of which had been destined for wholesale distribution. Specifically, the Food Bank received 141,191 liters of milk, 71,824 kilograms of butter, 59,795 kg of cheese, 45,483 kg of yogurt and 39,906 kg of cereal.
