Law against waste causes sudden rise in donations to the “Padre Nostro” Soup Kitchen

Thanks to the law on food waste, the amount of food donated to the “Padre Nostro” Soup Kitchen has increased by 30-35%. The numbers reeled off by Adriano Broglia, who is in charge of the association that feeds 100 families in the town every day, are impressive.

 

For this reason, the new refrigerated van, which was purchased following a call for applications by Lombardy Region (see photo) for associations fighting food waste, is a godsend. “We took part at the regional call for applications in July 2017, which paid for vehicles to fight food waste. Three hundred were made, for €1.5 million. Fourteen were accepted and our association received €36,000 of the nearly €40,000 necessary to purchase the new vehicle.”

 

“It’s a dream come true,” Broglia continued. “They call us a multinational of solidarity. Our association operates well, thanks to 57 incredible volunteers, who work for the ‘Padre Nostro’ Soup Kitchen. Special thanks go to the local Caritas organisations.”

 

At the ceremony for introducing the vehicle, the Councillor for Social Services, Cristina Borroni, the Councillor for Public Works, Claudio Cardiroli, and the Mayor, Mirella Cerini, were also present. “We can’t not love you,” the Mayor said. “You’re an important association. Congratulations for your ability to create a network, even beyond Castellanza.” The vehicle was blessed by Father Walter Magni, the priest of Castellanza, in front of many of the volunteers involved.

 

The network mentioned by Mayor Cerini, is growing more and more. The association collects surplus food from the Iper hypermarket in Solbiate Olona, from Gustami, in Castellanza, from Metro, from Il Gigante, from Pomini, from RTM Valvomeccanica, and from schools in Castellanza and Olgiate Olona. Now, thanks to the refrigerator, the association will be able to collect fresh and extremely fresh products, like meat. We help 340 people, 61 families are Italian and 39 are foreign. “This last figure has completely changed with respect to a few years ago, when there were many more foreigners than Italians,” Broglia concluded. “Now, we’ve even involved some of them as a form of restitution. A number of women do the cleaning on our premises in Via Bettinelli.”