The collection of food in the two weeks subsequent to the campaign doubled and the number of Market companies that collaborated increased by 83%.

The wholesalers' response could not have been more overwhelming to the appeal made the Food Bank, which has seen requests for food increase by 40% since the beginning of the crisis.

According to Mercabarna's Managing Director, Montserrat Gil de Bernabé, the campaign results have exceeded all expectations. She remarked, “When we first got this initiative under way our objective was to increase contributions by 50%. But in fact they have increased by 105%. Whereas previously 10,000 kg of fruit and vegetables were donated every week, now we are seeing 20,500 kg.”

Gil de Bernabé announced these results at a press conference held on 9 May, attended also by Antoni Sansalvadó, Chair of the Food Bank Foundation, Casimiro Llorens, Chair of AGEM, and Genoveva Català, Manager of the Catalan Waste Agency, an organisation that is also taking part in this campaign.

Sansalvadó was pleased at how successful the campaign was, emphasising “the fantastic response of the Mercabarna companies, who", he insisted, "play an important role not only for the quantity of products that they contribute but also because they provide fresh produce that is essential to everyone's diet”.

Stall by stall
One measure that has been decisive in the success of the campaign is that now Food Bank volunteers stop at each of the companies to collect the surplus products. Casimiro Llorens commented that this initiative “has been highly significant in helping to increase the contributions made". “Now," he added, "if a company doesn't collaborate it's because it doesn't have any produce to give.”

During the press conference the fifteen media representatives present saw in situ how the collection of products takes place at the different Market stalls.