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Mercabarna, the first fresh food wholesale market, inaugurated the “Foodback” warehouse in Barcelona, in order to collect surplus food for the most needy.
Mercabarna in Barcelona is the first wholesale market in Europe to make this initiative a reality.
Foodback is a solidarity warehouse and a novelty in today’s economic infrastructure.
It is a food recovery center that seeks to collect vegetables and fruits that ended up in the garbage because they could not be marketed or because they did not meet the required measures, but that retain 100% of their properties.
The warehouse has 900 square meters of floor space. An investment of 800,000 euros was made in the construction and another 200,000 euros in the adaptation of the building.
Foodback: food for the needy
The fruits and vegetables that arrive at Foodback come from the different wholesale companies located within the same market. There they are selected and distributed to different social entities throughout Catalonia that seek to help vulnerable people.
Recipients include the Red Cross of Catalonia, Càritas Diocesana and the Barcelona Food Bank Foundation.
Lluís Fatjó-Vilas, director of the Barcelona Food Bank, said that Foodback was born at the best time. Just when food prices have risen, the pandemic has not yet been overcome and a war is unfolding with global repercussions.
Thanks to the launch of Foodback, it will be possible for many people to incorporate vegetables and fruits into their diets.
