The Algarve Food Bank won the 11th edition of the Maria José Nogueira Pinto Prize and will receive 15 thousand euros for the construction of a digital platform for managing and distributing food support.
The award ceremony took place on October 11th, at the Palácio dos Marqueses de Fronteira, in Lisbon, and was attended by the President of the Republic and the Minister of Health.
The Algarve Food Bank, which is the fourth largest in the country, won with a project to improve the distribution of food to the most needy in the region. «E-Integrar» appears within the scope of the Associação Pró-Partilha e Inserção do Algarve, with the purpose of boosting the Algarve Food Bank.
The 15 thousand euros from the prize will be used to build a digital platform for managing and distributing food support, with the aim of “meeting the essential needs of the population without people having to expose themselves”.
«E-Integrar» allows, according to the Algarve Food Bank, «to cross-reference all the information of those interested in receiving support and ensures that the food reaches those who really need it».
Furthermore, the project aims to “impose greater justice and equity in the distribution of food”.
In collaboration with the University of Algarve, the Algarve Health Administration and the Faculty of Nutrition and Food Sciences of the University of Porto, «E-Integrar» takes into account the nutritional criteria of foods, in order to prepare healthier baskets .
Nuno Cabrita Alves, president of this institution, highlights that this is «a victory that highlights the work of Banco Alimentar do Algarve and highlights its position in the country».
«It is important to thank all the partners, institutions and volunteers who have always supported the Algarve Food Bank», he continues.
Seasonal work linked to tourism, low wages and rising inflation have, according to the Food Bank, increased requests for help.
«We count, more than ever, on the support of volunteers to be able to support the thousands of families in need in the Algarve region», appeals Nuno Cabrita Alves.
At the moment, the Algarve Food Bank helps more than 22 thousand people, a number that largely exceeds the 15 thousand that were being supported in the pre-pandemic period.
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