Czech food banks are experiencing a shortage of food supplies ahead of the spring round of nationwide food collections, according to Ales Slavicek, head of the Czech Federation of Food Banks. Speaking before the Chamber of Deputies’ social affairs committee, Slavicek noted that the current economic situation has affected the middle class, with food banks receiving daily requests for food. Food banks provide assistance to individuals in difficult social situations, such as single parents and seniors, via a distribution network of nearly 1,400 non-profit organisations and companies. Slavicek stated that the warehouses of the federation are almost empty, with demand for aid up by 30% year-on-year. In 2018, a law came into effect requiring stores over 400 square metres to donate unsellable food to non-profit organisations, with 60% of the food that reached the banks’ warehouses in 2020 coming from retail chains.

Food banks assisted 300,000 people last year, collecting 11,300 tonnes of food, which is approximately 22 million portions of food worth CZK 680 million. Slavicek noted that non-perishable food is the most important for food banks. National food collections have been held twice a year since 2019 to support food banks. The latest round of collections was held on 12 November at about 1,400 grocery and drug stores, with a total of 520 tonnes of goods collected, including 468 tonnes of food, equivalent to up to 936,000 portions. The spring round is scheduled to be held on 22 April.

In July, food banks will open in 150 locations across the Czech Republic to distribute aid directly to the public. Slavicek stated that the project would be based on cooperation with cities, with physical stalls planned in some cities. The mobile stalls should help some 50,000 people, he added. Jindrich Fialka, the head of the food section of the Agriculture Ministry, informed the committee that, as of July, a new decree would allow the donation of frozen meals, for example, in canteens, which was previously prohibited by law. The food banks also seek to reach out to food producers and farmers. The organisation has received support for its operations from the Ministry of Agriculture since 2016, with over CZK 113 million provided this year. It also receives support from the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs. Last year, they received CZK 200 million of EU money for investments, from a program of the Environment Ministry, which was used to buy or renovate their storage facilities.

Article by Prague Forum