FOOD BANKS WILL be set up in Ireland’s biggest cities to tackle food poverty.
Bia Food Banks will open a warehouse in Cork’s Little Island in June, which will give local charities access to food that they can then distribute. They hope to follow the opening with a similar facility in Dublin and then one in Galway.
The charity is aiming to tackle the problem of food poverty, which affects around 600,000 people in Ireland. Statistics suggest that one in five children go to school without a breakfast.
Karen Horgan is the project manager for Bia and she says that the plan has been coming together for a number of year.
“The idea is that we were take food from retailers and wholesalers and distribute it to the charities.
“Charities themselves will be responsible for handing the food on.”
Grocery giant Tesco has pledged €60,000 to help fund some of the running costs.
Much of the food will have been destined for landfill and retailers and wholesalers are being asked to divert that food to the foodbank.
“It’s all being done on a voluntary basis,” Horgan told TheJournal.ie, “But Tesco have come on board and we’re in discussions with other retailers.
“We’re confident that the funding will start coming in to allow us open a second warehouse.”
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