1. Is Banco Alimentar Contra a Fome Algarve part of a countrywide initiative?
We are one of 21 Food Banks in Portugal.

2. What year was it started?
May 2007.

3. Is it a private initiative, or a government operation?
It’s a private initiative; 95% of the support is private, too.

4. How many collection centres are there across the Algarve?
We have two facilities in the region. One in Faro, the headquarters and main warehouse, and the other warehouse in Portimao.

5. And how many times a year do collections take place?
We normally have two collections – the last weekend of May and November.

6. How many supermarkets are involved each time?
In a normal year, around 140.

7. Is everything reliant on volunteers?
Yes, 100%.

8. What is the volunteer’s exact role?
In stores, to collect food donations. Others to drive the collection vehicles. In the warehouses, to unload, sort and store the food.

9. So are volunteers needed at your warehouses, as well as in the stores?
Yes, they are vital to the smooth running of the programme.

10. What are volunteers provided with?
In the stores, they wear a Food Bank vest and they have paper bags to pass out to customers. In the warehouses, a hot meal is provided.

11. Other than working in a store, what else can a volunteer get involved with?
As I said, food transport and warehouse activities, during the collection. And before then, preparing all the campaign activities.

12. How many regular volunteers are there in the Algarve?
2,500.

13. Where does the food collected go to and who gets it there?
The food is collected from the stores and our volunteer drivers take the bags to the warehouse in Faro or Portimao.

14. What are the key foods you need donated?
We need food with a long shelf life – milk, olive oil, rice, pasta, beans, tuna fish, sausages, biscuits and cereals.

15. How much was collected in November?
Last November, because of COVID, only 40 stores participated, and from them we collected 71.5 tonnes of food.

16. What happened during all the lockdowns – where did vital foods come from?
During that period, we received food donations from the Portuguese Food Banks Federation.

17. How many people/families do you feed as a result of the programme?
We support 28,253 people in the Algarve, through 126 institutions.

18. How do they get on your roster and how do you get food to them?
We receive information about the needy from the institutions we work with.

19. Who can one contact to become a volunteer?
Just send an email to ba.algarve@bancoalimentar.pt

20. Can one donate money to help the initiative?
Yes, it is possible, and much appreciated. We always issue donation receipts.
IBAN PT50 0045 7100 4021 20762355 5.