Malaga's hospitality trade encouraged to donate surplus food to vulnerable people in the province

President of the Diputación de Málaga - the provincial authority, Francisco Salado, wished to demonstrate the unanimity of all political groups through the 'Málaga no caduca' project, as the contract was agreed on Friday 25 October an extraordinary and urgent meeting. The aim, according to Salado, is to have the project up and running between the end of January and the beginning of February next year, once it has been published on the Procurement Platform and in the Official Journal of the European Union. After that thirty calendar days for submitting applications to participate in the initiative must elapse before the contract is awarded.

Through the project hotel and catering establishments will be able to donate their surplus prepared food to 40,000 vulnerable people identified by Bancosol and local councils in the province. Hotels and restaurants will be responsible for packaging the food in portions, identifying what type of food it is and indicating the expiry date. In addition to Bancosol, the town councils and these establishments, which are essential for the development of the project, a financial institution will also have to participate by making financial resources available, as well as the database that organises the logistics with the collection and distribution schedules and the amount of food each household needs.

The contract specifications state that the contract will last for five years and will see a ten-million-euro investment, which means that the Diputación will set aside two million euros a year from its budget for the project. Although, according to Salado, it is the "first social impact contract" to be launched in Spain, He also explained that "payment is based on success. If all the objectives are achieved, 100% is paid, and if not, according to the objectives achieved".

The project also seeks to analyse the general psychosocial situation of these households to improve their employability and alleviate loneliness: "The project is much more ambitious than solving the lack of food; it wants to see why these people are at risk of social exclusion, improve their employability and help the elderly who are alone," Salado explained.

The provincial president said that Diputación has been working on the project for a year - it was covered by local media in June - developing the strategy and explaining the idea to companies, as well as designing the technology platform that coordinates all the data and all those involved. The University of Malaga, the Junta de Andalucía, the confederation of businesses, the sectoral employers' associations of the hotel and catering industry and hotel accommodation, as well as the Food Bank are all involved in the initiative. "There are thousands of tonnes of food that are thrown away and are in good condition. As well as a social aspect, this project also has an environmental impact," Salado said.