The food purchased is basic, varied, nutritious, not very perishable and easy to transport and store. In the first phase, which begins in June, 27.11 million kilos of food will be distributed.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, through the Spanish Agrarian Guarantee Fund (FEGA), has launched the "2019 program of food aid to the most disadvantaged people", which will involve the free distribution of 96,432,127 kilograms of foods.
The program, which has involved the purchase of food through a public bidding process for more than 92 million euros (excluding VAT), is co-financed by 85% European Aid Fund for the Most Disadvantaged People (FEAD) and by 15% for the national budget.
It will be developed in three phases, two of them in 2019 and the third in the first quarter of 2020. In the first phase, which begins now, 27.11 million kilos of food will be distributed, representing 28% of the total amounts to be distributed in the 2019 program.
The acquired foods are basic, varied, nutritious, not very perishable, easy to transport and store.
The "basket of food" purchased includes rice, cooked chickpeas, UHT whole milk, olive oil, canned tuna, canned sardine, preserved meat (lean), pasta, fried tomato, crackers, fruit salad, fruit in preserves, chocolate milkshake and baby pots for fruit and chicken.
The products will be delivered in all the provinces of Spain and will be distributed through the Food Banks, as well as the provincial centers of the Red Cross.
These entities will distribute food to some 5,600 partner distribution organizations, so that almost 1.3 million final beneficiaries can easily prepare a complete meal for one person or for a family with several members, including babies.