We directly support more than 1,000 institutions on a regular basis. In 2018, direct support amounted to 31.5 million euros, which represents an increase of 45% compared to 2017.
At Corporate level, we donated more than 700,000 euros to 48 institutions. Of this amount, 56% of the support went to social projects, 30% to Human Rights and citizenship, and 14% to other types of support in the areas of education, literacy and culture.
In Portugal, Pingo Doce supported, in food and monetary value, more than 430 institutions that fulfill a social mission in the surrounding communities to more than 13.8 million euros. The amount of food donated totalled 6,400 tonnes.
Recheio gave more than 385,000 euros in food donations. More than 195 tonnes of food products were donated to 167 charities. In addition, more than 38,000 euros in cash was given to 9 institutions.
In Poland, we continued to develop initiatives focused on supporting campaigns and social projects, with around 16.5 million euros being channelled into support, distributed by more than 390 institutions.
The increase of more than 500% over the previous year was mainly due to the expansion of the scope of donations of food to institutions in the surrounding areas of our stores and to the support of the activities celebrating 100 years of reconquest of the country’s independence. Food donations totalled about 4,900 tonnes, estimated to have reached more than 410,000 people.
At Ara, we maintained the referral of food surpluses from stores and Distribution Centres to the most vulnerable communities, mitigating the difficulty of accessing food and fighting food waste.
Food surpluses meeting food security standards but cannot be sold, are donated by the Group charities which, in turn, distribute them to people living in extremely vulnerable conditions. Approximately 11.5 thousand tonnes were donated in 2018.
By 2020, we want the food donation programme in Poland to reach 1,500 stores.
The “Pomagamy Na 100” (Help to the 100) programme is a financial assistance initiative aimed at the senior population in situations of great vulnerability, in small towns or villages. The more than 5,300 elderly people supported had access to prepaid Biedronka monthly cards, for consumption in our stores, with a total amount invested of around 2.5 million euros.
We continued to provide support, which started in 2015, to Academia do Johnson, a community project that aims at combating social exclusion and the school dropout of about 170 children and youths from vulnerable communities in the Lisbon region. This Academy promotes the practice of sport as a means of developing behavioural, social and technical skills that help prevent risk situations in their lives and enhance their integration into society.
As part of the International Children’s Day, Biedronka has been supporting the “Let’s Stay Together” campaign, by teaming up with Caritas Polska to help strengthen the bonds between children and their families.
Ara supports Abaco – Asociación de Bancos de Alimentos de Colombia (Colombian Association of Food Banks), whose mission is to establish strategic alliances with public and private partners to fight against hunger and food waste. In 2018, Ara donated over 51 tonnes in food surplus that reached an estimated 422 people on average per monthly in the cities of Bogotá, Pereira, Manizales and Barranquilla. At the same time, we avoided the emission equivalent to 1,150 tonnes of CO2 that would otherwise be deposited in landfills and released into the atmosphere.
Food surpluses meeting food security standards but cannot be sold, are donated by the Group charities which, in turn, distribute them to people living in extremely vulnerable conditions. Approximately 11.5 thousand tonnes were donated in 2018.
By 2020, we want the food donation programme in Poland to reach 1,500 stores.
We continued to provide support, which started in 2015, to Academia do Johnson, a community project that aims at combating social exclusion and the school dropout of about 170 children and youths from vulnerable communities in the Lisbon region. This Academy promotes the practice of sport as a means of developing behavioural, social and technical skills that help prevent risk situations in their lives and enhance their integration into society.
Ara supports Abaco – Asociación de Bancos de Alimentos de Colombia (Colombian Association of Food Banks), whose mission is to establish strategic alliances with public and private partners to fight against hunger and food waste. In 2018, Ara donated over 51 tonnes in food surplus that reached an estimated 422 people on average per monthly in the cities of Bogotá, Pereira, Manizales and Barranquilla. At the same time, we avoided the emission equivalent to 1,150 tonnes of CO2 that would otherwise be deposited in landfills and released into the atmosphere.
The “Pomagamy Na 100” (Help to the 100) programme is a financial assistance initiative aimed at the senior population in situations of great vulnerability, in small towns or villages. The more than 5,300 elderly people supported had access to prepaid Biedronka monthly cards, for consumption in our stores, with a total amount invested of around 2.5 million euros.
As part of the International Children’s Day, Biedronka has been supporting the “Let’s Stay Together” campaign, by teaming up with Caritas Polska to help strengthen the bonds between children and their families.
Aiming to leverage consumer’s engagement in the fight against hunger, our stores allow food donated by customers to be collected so that it can reach people living in extremely vulnerable conditions.
Other organisations also had the opportunity to promote their social projects with our clients, sensitizing them to the causes they defend: the Aldeias SOS Portugal, the Casa de Protecção e Amparo de Santo António, Raríssimas and Irmãzinhas dos Pobres.
The 2018 data referring to the support granted to our surrounding communities and the programme for direct food donations in Poland was verified by an external and independent auditor within the scope of the Group’s 2018 Annual Report.