Cairo -

With the aim of reaching 100,000 poor families living in the border areas, the Egyptian Food Bank launched the Good Caravans Program at the beginning of this week, as part of a strategy adopted by the charitable foundation to deliver safe and healthy food to those in need in all governorates of Egypt under the auspices of the Ministry of Social Solidarity.

Prior to the month of Ramadan, officials at the Egyptian Food Bank announced the targeting of providing support to 850,000 eligible families in the governorates with dry foodstuffs, as well as distributing 10 million hot meals (breakfast and suhoor), equivalent to 350 thousand meals per day.

The 50 convoys of goodness target 6 border governorates: North Sinai, South Sinai, New Valley, Aswan, Red Sea and Marsa Matrouh.

The Egyptian Food Bank is the first Egyptian non-governmental organization established to eradicate hunger (communication sites)

Within only 4 days of the launch of the charitable program, the Food Bank announced the completion of distributing 27,000 cartons of food aid to the most vulnerable families in North Sinai Governorate, 3,000 cartons in the Red Sea Governorate, 10,000 cartons in South Sinai Governorate, and 10,000 cartons in the New Valley. .

The Food Bank is the first Egyptian non-governmental organization established to eradicate hunger, and its charitable work was launched in 2006, aiming to deliver adequate food to families in need throughout the country.

good ramadan

The CEO of the Egyptian Food Bank, Mohsen Sarhan, said that the initiatives of the Egyptian Food Bank during the month of Ramadan are among the most important activities of the charitable foundation throughout the year.

He explained in the press conference held to launch the Caravan of Goodness program that the Egyptian Food Bank factory is doubling its efforts to produce 15,000 cartons of foodstuffs per day in Ramadan.

The Food Bank has a huge database that contains about one million individuals at the level of all governorates, in order to provide them with healthy food with the help of more than 40,000 volunteers, in addition to cooperating with civil associations, which number about 6,000, according to statements by the bank’s CEO.

The bank targets specific groups to direct its support, namely: the breadwinner woman, the disabled who are unable to work, the elderly who are unable to work, small farmers, students coming from abroad to study in Al-Azhar institutions, the geographically marginalized in remote areas, and inmates in mental health hospitals.

50 convoys of goodness targeting 6 border governorates, including North and South Sinai (communication sites)

international partnerships

In cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Egyptian Food Bank launched a campaign entitled “Every day is advice in Ramadan”;

With the aim of reducing food waste resulting from some consumption habits of certain social groups in the month of Ramadan.

The media official of the FAO in Egypt, Mohamed Moussa, said that the campaign aims to educate by purchasing what the citizen needs only during Ramadan, and what exceeds his needs he gives to poor families.

The latest reports issued by the international organization revealed that the Middle East and North Africa region relies on imports to meet more than 50% of its food needs, yet it loses up to a third of the food it produces and imports due to waste.

The Food Bank owns a huge database containing about one million individuals in Egypt (communication sites)

According to the United Nations Environment Program report for the year 2021, the world wastes 931 million tons of food annually, including 9 million tons from Egypt, and the per capita food waste in homes is estimated at nearly 91 kilograms per year.

Amazon has announced the provision of more than one million meals to support poor families in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Jordan during the month of Ramadan.

Amazon said - in a statement - that it provides, in cooperation with the Egyptian Food Bank, thousands of food boxes, relying on its distribution centers to prepare and package basic foods, while its logistics network works to deliver meals to those who deserve it.

MICO, the owner of a social application in the field of entertainment in the Middle East, announced its cooperation with the Egyptian Food Bank in preparing 330 cartons of food for the most needy Egyptian families during Ramadan, and they were distributed in the Imbaba area in Giza Governorate.

The Egyptian Company for Underground Management also announced the distribution of 75,000 iftar meals to passengers, in the first half of Ramadan, as part of the “We will break at the station” campaign at the main metro stations, in coordination with the Egyptian Food Bank and the Resala Association for Charitable Activities.

The campaign aims to distribute 150,000 light breakfast meals inside the metro during Ramadan, at a rate of 5,000 meals per day.

The Governor of South Sinai, Major General Khaled Fouda, during the reception of the convoy of goodness (communication sites)

Funding and donations

In 2021, the Egyptian Food Bank targeted investments in the charitable field by about 700 million pounds - equivalent to 38 million dollars - while its business volume did not exceed 8 million pounds at the time of its establishment in 2006.

According to officials in the charitable entity, donations and zakat represent 80% of the financing of the food bank's business, as well as the support of companies and businessmen.

The bank receives in-kind and technical support from the Ministry of Social Solidarity, which is the governmental body regulating civil work in the country.

According to the law regulating civil work, 20% of the value of donations is allocated to cover administrative expenses and salaries of workers in the charitable organization.

The bank serves about 130,000 beneficiaries per month, and the target numbers double during seasonal programs in the month of Ramadan and Eid al-Adha.

Poverty rates in Egypt are about 29.7%, or nearly 30 million citizens, in the fiscal year 2019 and 2020, according to a statement by the Central Agency for Mobilization and Statistics.