Municipal social services have distributed 29,000 pre-paid Barcelona Solidària cards for food. An agreement with the Catalan Red Cross and Càritas for half a million euros will also help reach at least two thousand more vulnerable people, while another line of special aid worth half a million euros will help forty neighbourhood social organisations which have been running soup kitchens or started new operations during the pandemic.

A healthy diet at a good price

In an effort to support empowerment projects and guarantee rights, 20,000 copies have been published of a guide on healthy and economical eating for families with children, offering tips, menu suggestions and shopping lists for people to prepare healthy meals on a budget. Besides the digital version, hard copies of the booklet will be distributed at social services centres, municipal markets, social entities and other facilities.

New future food model

A second stage will see joint work with the Food Bank to implement a new food model which can be reproduced in different parts of the city with social entities and bodies, to include various city stakeholders. The basis for the system is yet to be defined but the idea is to work with providers such as Mercabarna and the farmers’ union to mobilise surplus and food donations and cook them in places such as schools, community facilities and soup kitchens.

More information on the guide is available here.

Increase in the number of meals for vulnerable groups

The outbreak of Covid-19 saw the number of daily meals served to vulnerable people in the city increase by 190%, rising from 3,810 meals a day before the crisis to nearly 11,000 served at present.