ITA 04 - RIGHT TO FOOD
Project Location
ACSE (Associazione Comboniana Servizio Emigranti e Profughi) is located in Rome and has been carrying out its activities since 1969. Its services, aimed at people of about 40 different nationalities, include: reception and information, Italian language courses, computer courses, legal services, employment desk and dental clinic and are carried out thanks to the presence of about 50 volunteers.
The aim is to increase the tools for integration, offering support to people who find themselves in a situation of poverty and marginalization.
Project description
It is undeniable that since the beginning of the pandemic, poverty has grown in a worrying way (we went from a distribution of 60/70 parcels per week to 100/120). Among users, the profile of people asking for help has changed significantly. If before they were mostly homeless and migrants, now the number of Italians asking for assistance has grown significantly, especially among the elderly and single women with children, without forgetting the Ukrainians fleeing the war.
The ACSE Food Service, located in Piazza S. Martino ai Monti, 142 B in Rome, made 45 distributions in 2023, donating 4,152 food parcels to members of 44 different nationalities. 522 people benefited, divided into: 433 "Continuous", 11 "Occasional" and 78 "Ukrainians". Of the 522 beneficiaries, 409 are migrants, 1 disabled, 10 homeless, 24 Italians and 78 Ukrainians without ISEE. The items distributed equals 17 tons of various food supplies; over 2.7 tons of milk, about 2500 kg of vegetables and/or fruit, and about 800 kg of hygiene products.
The increase in users poses serious supply problems. In addition to the increase in weekly packages to meet needs, we must consider that, while until the beginning of 2023 we had many individuals and few families, now the "trend" has reversed. This requires a greater quantity of food to be purchased.
The health emergency first and then the war in Ukraine, with the consequent increase in the cost of living that risks worsening with the current crisis in the Red Sea, have generated a "new poverty". Families that until a year ago were able to meet essential needs with their own resources, albeit limited, now have great difficulty making it to the end of the month. The difficulty in finding food has also hit the “Banco Alimentare” and the Associations that work to support the needy.
Our distribution program requires that food parcels must be dignified. The products distributed by ACSE during the month are:
- Biscuits, coffee, meat, jam, cheese, milk, seed oil, pasta, tomato puree, rice, canned goods and sugar
- Over the weeks we alternate meat and tuna
- Oil and cheese, are given twice a month
- Coffee, sugar and jam, are given once a month
- Hygiene products are given once a month.
Objective
- To guarantee the right to food for people who ask for support from ACSE
Beneficiaries
Direct: 40 families and 50 individuals of different nationalities (for a total of over 500 people)
Referent sister of the project: sr Lucia Cacelli
Project's costs