Up to 450,000 people in Lithuania are short of food, says Simonas Gurevičius, the head of the Food Bank (Maisto Bankas) NGO.
“The Food Bank is helping 232,000 people,” the head of the NGO said, adding that even more people are in need of food assistance.
“The number of people in need of food in Lithuania is around 400,000–450,000, according to what surveys show,” he told LRT RADIO. This represents around 15 percent of the population.
Food insecurity rises in autumn when heating bills and other expenses increase financial pressure on low-income households, Gurevičius said.
At the same time, 400,000 tonnes of food are wasted in Lithuania each year, he noted.
“There are certainly resources to help, there are people to help, but we just need to make the right decisions to ensure that the food reaches those in need,” said the head of the Food Bank.
Earlier, the organisation announced that more than 274,000 non-perishable food items were donated during the traditional Food Bank drive last weekend.
Newsletter
Every Friday morning.
