Volunteering through Food Banks
The numbers of those infected are declining at the same time that the signs of solidarity are increasing. Aren’t you a volunteer yet?
Thousands of people, due to the crisis caused by COVID-19, have found it necessary to turn to NGOs or associations to request help during the quarantine. With the closure of establishments, unemployed or part-time workers, the number of people who need resources to survive has increased. Citizen initiatives, such as those registered in Todo Saldrá Bien, have contributed to alleviating this situation. However, one of the great pillars to help the most vulnerable families has been the Food Banks .
Throughout these days, it has been possible to see in the media images of the long queues that form at the entrance of Neighborhood Associations or other Organizations that, seeing the situation of many families, have decided to contribute by distributing lunches.
A task that the Food Banks have intensified in these weeks. According to data from the Banc dels Aliments Foundation , the distribution of basic foods has increased by 36% since the start of the pandemic and they have gone from distributing one million kilos of these foods to one and a half million.
Some figures that are also indicated by the Spanish Federation of Food Banks , from which they point out that they have served 1.1 million disadvantaged people thanks to donations through social networks from individuals and companies. Among them are the proceeds from initiatives such as Manuel Carrasco ‘s song ‘Prisión Esperanza’, which has contributed to the distribution of 150,000 food rations, and the UCESHA union, with a donation of €19,000 to the Federation.
This has a network of 54 associated Food Banks throughout Spain, through which it contributes directly to Sustainable Development Goal 2 and works to put an end to this precarious situation. Check out more articles on our stie SM Blog.
From the European University we have collaborated during this academic year with the Asociación Manos de Ayuda Social and its activities in the soup kitchen and food collections at different points in the Community of Madrid. Victoria, a student of the Degree in Dentistry , explained her experience as follows: “In my spare time I am in the Vallecas soup kitchen of the Manos de Ayuda Social Association, helping because it is sorely needed. It is something that is needed and by doing it you contribute your grain of sand”. So did Diego , a student on the Degree in Physical Activity and Sports Sciences . In his case, he went every Thursday and stated that“since then my thursday is no longer called thursday, but, after wednesday, for me comes the day Social Help Hands”.
Two testimonials from students who will continue to volunteer in activities that, little by little, will adapt to the new social conditions.
