Opened Food Bank and Logistics Center of the Zagreb City Red Cross

Today, the citizens of Zagreb got an insight into the equipment and readiness of the operational forces of the Zagreb Red Cross for their protection in crisis situations and mitigating the consequences of such situations on the health, life and social security of the community.

The delegate of the mayor Mr. Tomašević, the deputy head of the City Office for Social Protection, Health, Veterans and Persons with Disabilities, Mrs. Romana Galić, pointed out that this is a great moment for people who are at risk of poverty and social exclusion. "Although Zagreb leads the way in taking care of the most vulnerable population, the opening of the Food Bank and Logistics center is just a drop in the ocean that our fellow citizens need. Zagreb has a rate of risk of poverty and social exclusion of 9 percent, compared to Croatia which has 18 percent. But the most important are the people who are behind those numbers, who come in need of help", she stressed, adding that this is a step of synergy between the state and the city that allocated this space to the Red Cross, its partner in helping the neediest.

The Logistics center is located in the area that the City of Zagreb gave to the Red Cross for use and whose arrangement was financed in the amount of 250 thousand euros, and consists of 500 m² of storage space, 300 m² of office space, rooms for the 24-hour stay of the intervention team in crisis situations, 192 pallet places and a 25 m2 cooling chamber. Equipment for action in crisis situations is located there: rescue boat, all-terrain vehicle, dryers, tents, folding beds, sleeping bags, aggregates and pumps, chainsaws, etc. and the area is fully equipped for action in crises such as floods, saving lives on the water, migrant or Ukrainian refugee crises, securing sports events and other public events.

Food bank

In addition to the Logistics center, the Croatian metropolis officially has a different bank from today - the Food Bank, that is, a central place for organized and long-term acceptance, storage and distribution of food between donors and intermediaries. Through the EUR 240,000 project "Infrastructural equipment of the food bank of the Zagreb City Red Cross Society", the Zagreb Red Cross acquired three commercial vehicles that rounded off the entire distribution-logistics center, and donors were enabled to donate surplus food quickly and easily. Thus, the prerequisites for increasing the amount of donated food were created, which contributes to reducing food waste and increasing the food security of the poorer general population. The project was financed from the NextGenerationEu instrument as part of the National Resilience and Recovery Program 2021-2026. for which one of the reform measures is the improvement of the food donation system in Croatia, for which the Ministry of Agriculture is responsible.

In March of this year, a voluntary agreement "Together against food waste" was signed by the Ministry of Agriculture and representatives of food producers and processors, trade, catering, the scientific and academic community, local and regional self-government units, institutions, non-profit organizations and initiatives and associations and companies. The agreement currently has 44 signatories, and during its duration of five years, it is available for accession by new signatories. The Institution of the City of Zagreb "DOBRI DOM" proudly points out that it is a signatory to the original agreement.

Since its foundation, the Institution of the City of Zagreb "DOBRI DOM" and the Red Cross of the City of Zagreb have been linked by a very close and meaningful cooperation that results in the implementation of various necessary social services and improvement of the quality of life of the most vulnerable groups of citizens of the City of Zagreb.

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