Category: Food supply

Cardiff – Dine out by app

Cardiff has worked with local Fintech company Yoello, which has developed an innovative app which allows customers to order meals from a number of restaurants and cafes across the city which are then delivered to the city’s new Castle Café. Customers simply use their smart phone to access an online platform by typing Cardiff-castle.yoello.com into their browsers, or by scanning a QR code placed on their table. The customer pays through the secure payment platform and the food and drink is delivered to the table.

Set up by Cardiff Council to assist the city’s hospitality sector which was struggling to operate profitably indoors because of the two metre distance regulations in Wales, the Castle Café enables trade in a safe, socially-distanced outdoor setting directly in front of the iconic Cardiff Castle. More information here.

Contact: Beverley Watson

Istanbul – Overview of measures

Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality has created a summary of the policy responses to the corona pandemic and the plans for recovery. You can download the document here. More information (in Turkish) is available here

Contact: Asena Selçuk

Cities talking about food policy during crisis

Cities reacted to the crisis by setting up specific actions regarding access to food and food delivery, particularly for vulnerable groups. Different approaches and measures for new food aid systems have been put in place by the food policy teams of many cities that are part of the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact (MUFPP). The MUFPP team organised a talk between Sao Paulo, Milan, Barcelona and Washington DC to exchange on challenges and solutions.

Contact: mufpp.secretariat@comune.milano.it

Bristol – #BristolFoodKind

Launched by the city partners behind Bristol’s bid to become a Gold Sustainable Food City, the #BristolFoodKind campaign offers practical ideas for people at home during the pandemic on how to grow and cook food, reduce waste and shop locally. Every act of ‘food kindness’ can help improve health and wellbeing, support the community and secure the future of Bristol’s food scene. Residents are encouraged to get involved by sharing their stories on social media. Read more about #BristolFoodKind here

Contact: Paul Davies

Bordeaux – Fresh fruits and veggies for all

Bordeaux has launched a new trial project helping members of a dozen social grocery stores to buy fresh fruit and vegetables by having the city pay the difference between cost price and store price. The city also supports the Food Bank and various other organisations to give access to good quality food to those in need for free. The city and its partners have collected around €300,000 to finance food distribution actions.

Continue reading “Bordeaux – Fresh fruits and veggies for all” →

Cardiff – Time to say thanks to volunteers

Volunteers across Cardiff are being celebrated this week, including the 1,200 strong Together for Cardiff force which was set up by the city council at the onset of the COVID-19 emergency. Working with council staff, the volunteers helped preparing and delivering more than 5,000 emergency food and essentials parcels for people experiencing difficulties getting supplies during the outbreak because they are self-isolating or because of the financial impact of the crisis. You can read more here

Contact: Beverley Watson

Sofia – Thank you to volunteers and donors

The mayor of Sofia, Yordanka Fandakova, has acknowledged the help received from people and institutions during the corona lockdown. She mentions that a total of €211,000 has been donated in the form of food, medicine, protective masks and clothing, medical equipment and disinfectants. More than 140 people in Sofia have received warm food daily. Furthermore, 238 citizens joined as volunteers. You can read more on the mayor’s Facebook page (in Bulgarian)

Contact: Sevdalina Voynova

Tbilisi – Overview of measures

The city of Tbilisi, Georgia, has compiled an overview of measures taken in the corona crisis, following the first confirmed case on 26 February: from the disinfection of public places to help for the elderly to support of local businesses. You can download the document here

Contact: Lika Davitadze

Angers – Traffic wardens go shopping for the elderly

During the corona containment period, the communal centre for social action (CCAS) in Angers has been offering a home shopping service to help the most vulnerable people, such as the elderly or those with low incomes. The service is available for every household in need once or twice a week, and is carried out not only by social workers but also by traffic wardens. You can read more here (in French)

Contact: Bruno Gourdon

Budapest – Chimney sweepers deliver food

© FŐKÉTÜSZ (Metropolitan Chimney Sweeping company) / City of Budapest

Budapest’s chimney sweepers are carrying out social duties since the suspension of chimney checks due to the pandemic. Chimney sweepers are delivering food and medicine for vulnerable and elderly residents. More information here.

Contact: Adrienn Magyar

Nice – Local shopping online

Created in partnership with the start-up Whishibam, the city of Nice is today launching a virtual trading platform, which will enable registered Nice merchants to easily sell their products and sell off their stock, generate immediate cash flow and benefit from a new showcase throughout the year. The launch of this virtual trade site in Nice complements other measures to support local economic actors and traders. Visit the website here

Contact: Ivo Banek

Izmir – Volunteer harvest workers

Izmir Metropolitan Municipality has launched a volunteer programme for the fruit harvest during the corona pandemic. Due to the curfew it is expected that many seasonal workers will be unable to attend the harvest. Young volunteers can register online and receive a video training. The municipality provides hygiene sets, including masks, gloves and disinfectants, transportation and lunch. Work in the orchards will start on 11 May. The programme is part of Izmir’s support package for the agriculture sector.

Continue reading “Izmir – Volunteer harvest workers” →

Nantes – school lunches

Normally, families in Nantes pay between 0,84 and 4,62 € per day for the school canteen. Catering at home may cost more when the school canteens are closed during the COVID crisis. 7,459 families with low income will, in two weeks, receive €100 per child from Nantes’ Welfare Centre. Read more (in French) here.

Contact: Nicolas Joffraud

Angers – Support local producers

Since outdoor markets have been banned in France, producers have been organizing to continue delivering fresh produce to inhabitants. In Angers, an initiative launched by the city allows residents to buy local produce in shops which are otherwise closed during the lockdown period. Shopkeepers provide market gardeners with a central site to sell their fruit and vegetables for a few hours a week. Over the course of 15 days, more than 600,000 visitors have visited the online platform ‘Adopte ton maraîcher’ (adopt your market gardener). Read more in English here and in French here.

Contact: Bruno Gourdon

Florence – Civic crowdfunding

Florence has joined forces with local stakeholders and active citizenship to launch a crowdfunding initiative. Collected funds will help finance projects in areas such as welfare, education and culture. Four projects have already been selected through the platform. These have financed the purchase of medical equipment for a retirement home, a dedicated food delivery system for people in financial difficulty, and the purchase of tablets for students to guarantee access to online education. Read more here (in Italian)

Contact: Alessandra Barbieri

Espoo – Reallocation for food assistance

The City of Espoo has reassigned employees from places like libraries and early childhood education into efforts to distribute food. One part of the city’s refocused efforts in this area includes the provision of lunch packages distributed once a week to children currently studying at home. Read more here and here

Contact: Annika Forstén

Nantes – Ensuring delivery of fresh products

Nantes Metropole created an online market for local producers and small shops and businesses called ‘Place du Marché en ligne’. Open air markets are closed, but they accommodate their consumers through a drive-in system: clients place their orders by phone or email and collect it at a specific day and time. The French mail service is also looking into using their vehicles to deliver food in addition to packages, while the start-up Les coursiers nantais is delivering food by bike all around the city. Read more here and here (in French)

Contact: Nicolas Joffraud

Edinburgh – Food distribution network

The city council, third sector organisation EVOC and the volunteering community have come together to provide vulnerable groups food in these difficult circumstances. 3000 areas are targeted at first and further actions will adapt to the citizens’ demand. Volunteers will receive training and schools are acting as logistic centers. Read more here

Contact: Karen Lloyd

Edinburgh – Triple shelter partnership

“10,000 bed spaces to 730 unique individuals over the last 200 nights” is the outcome reached together by Edinburgh’s city council and Bethany Christian Trust. The volunteers and the Council staff receive now help from the Old Waverley Hotel, where they can have temporary accomodation while receiving support and advices. The hotel is also offering three meals a day for those in need thanks to many anonymous volunteers. Read more here

Contact: Karen Lloyd

Karlsruhe – Local support

Karlsruhe has set up the platform #supportyourlocals enabling people to shop locally. Deliveries are done by bike or, for longer distances, by post. While keeping business alive, the UNESCO City of Media Arts offers a digital cultural programme to keep people engaged, as well as the ZKM Center of Media Arts, and numerous museums and galleries. Read more here and here (in German)

Contact: Regina Hartig

Beşiktaş – Online solidarity

Beşiktaş has joined ‘blessing box’ programme that can turn online shopping into donations. The programme allows residents to demonstrate solidarity while shopping online by creating a shopping basket to be sent to their neighbours in need, which the municipality then delivers. It is possible to donate all kinds of products, such as foods, hygiene products, pet food etc.

After purchasing the products residents want to donate from any online shopping sites, it is sufficient to enter the address of the municipality as delivery address and Beşiktaş Belediyesi as recipient name. Thus, the delivery will be brought to the food bank and will be delivered to the people in need by the Blessing Box Solidarity Programme teams. Citizens will be able to check whether their delivery has reached its destination. Read more (in Turkish) here.

Contact: foreignaffairs@besiktas.bel.tr

Munich – Homeless services

Munich is providing accommodation for homeless people who, because of their age or the existence of a previous condition, are particularly vulnerable to the coronavirus. Its social services department has also set up quarantine accommodation that houses households that have been quarantined. A separate quarantine object for vulnerable target groups (women at risk of domestic violence, old people, people with pre-existing conditions, etc.) is also planned. Two homes for homeless women have agreed to accept women from the women’s shelters as needed to help shelter women in the face of the expected increase in domestic violence due to exit restrictions.

Continue reading “Munich – Homeless services” →

Munich – Care for the vulnerable

Munich’s social department is subsidising food tables with a total of over 30 dispensaries for food and hot meals. The Münchner Tafel is open Monday to Saturday from 1.30 p.m. to 4.30 p.m. on the grounds of the Grossmarkthalle (West Gate). The social department is working on maintaining the social infrastructure together with the agencies or charities as well as its own employees. Read more (in German) here.

Contact: portal.soz@muenchen.de

Munich – Care for the elderly

Munich is working with its social department and municipal libraries to deliver a shopping service for older residents and those with disabilities. The association “Münchner Freiwillige”, which is sponsored by the social department, also helps with shopping, as well as everyday challenges, such as caring for pets (going for a walk, etc.). Read more (in German) here.

Contact: portal.soz@muenchen.de



Lyon – Farmers and consumers coming together

Lyon Métropole has launched a distribution tool for the 350 farms on the territory. With food markets closed, agriculture producers have been mapped and offer their products via digital platforms. Customers receive the food at grocery stores nearby. Thus, citizens can support the local producers while having a healthy diet. You can read more about this and other initiatives in the city overview.

Contact: Adrien Alberni

Osmangazi – Food distribution

Following the confinement rules established in Osmangazi, Turkey, people above 65 years and below 20 years old are prohibited to go out, apart from emergencies. To provide people at home with food and other essential items, the municipality offers a delivery service. More than 30,000 families have ordered goods via email or telephone, while the authorities have proactively delivered basic goods to over 130,000 families. Read more here (in Turkish)

Contact: Şenol Dülger

Nicosia – Overview of measures

The city of Nicosia, Cyprus, has compiled a summary of the municipality’s measures in the corona crisis, from confinement regulations over ‘solidarity baskets’ for the elderly to creative activities for kids, painting their vision of ‘Nicosia 2030’ while at home. The document also provides contact names for further information. You can download it here

Contact: Charis Theocharous

Helsinki – Calling everyone over 80

The city of Helsinki has teamed up with local parishes and charity organisations for reaching out to the self-isolating elderly population. In the ‘Helsinki Helpline’ campaign, volunteers are calling the elderly by phone to ask if they need help – or just want to talk about how they are coping with the coronavirus lockdown. The ambition is to contact all 27,000 residents who are over 80. People over 70 years of age can also call for a chat or request help, as with shopping food or medicines. A retailer cooperative and a call center company are supporting the service as partners. You can read more here

Contact: Anu Riila

Kartal / Istanbul – Marching band for the morale

With music in the streets, the municipality of Kartal, a district of Istanbul, entertains and supports people at home during the corona crisis. A marching band played a series of concerts in ten neighbourhoods and was greeted with flags and applause. The municipality also developed a video programme for kindergarten kids. You can read more and find an overview of measures here (in Turkish and English)

Kadikoy – Healthy meals from famous chefs

Dilara Koçak @ Instagram

In the Turkish city of Kadikoy, people in need get morale support and healthy food during the corona crisis through the initiative ‘You stay safe’. Meals are prepared by the popular nutrition expert Dilara Koçak and cooked by famous chefs, with ingredients sponsored by restaurants and companies. The municipality delivers the meals. “Balanced nutrition, drinking enough water, good sleep are important for the immune system”, says Dilara Koçak. “In our menus, seasonal vegetables, fruits, balanced protein, enough fiber and cooking methods suitable for health were our priority. I wish it to be healing.” You can read more here (in Turkish) and download an overview of Kadikoy’s measures here

Contact: Duygu Tanrikulu

Zagreb – Public kitchens

Zagreb is opening several new public kitchens to help the poorest members of society to enjoy a hot meal. This is a collaboration between the City of Zagreb Office for Social Welfare and People with Disabilities and the institution Good Home, which caters for the poorest citizens. It is also occurring in cooperation with the Archdiocese of Caritas, the Croatian Red Cross, the Zagreb Red Cross City Society and the Parish of Sv. Antun Padovansky.

Contact: international.relations@zagreb.hr

Milan – Educators shop for the elderly

Milan is providing a personal grocery shopping and delivery service for the elderly thanks to an agreement with food retailers and a charity organisation. Funded by the charity, the program works through a call centre that the elderly can call to place their orders. The orders are prepared and delivered by volunteers. The program serves around 3,000 people and involves 135 educators. Read more here (in Italian)

Contact: Olimpia Vaccarino Aureli

Milan – A locker system for your shopping

The municipality asked supermarkets’ chains to install new lockers to be used for the collection of online grocery shopping. Customers can order their groceries online, then collect them avoiding queues and limiting contact with other people since their shopping will be waiting, at a specific time, in an assigned locker which only the customer can access with his/her membership card. Read more here (in Italian)

Contact: Olimpia Vaccarino Aureli

Istanbul – Feeding stray cats and dogs

The district municipality in Sultanbeyli, Istanbul, is feeding stray animals during the corona lockdown. While shops are closed, the local veterinary service units leave animal food at central places. In Istanbul, there are thought to be 130,000 dogs and 125,000 cats roaming free. Other measures of the municipality aim to prevent the spread of the virus in public places like bazaars and to support people in need.

Continue reading “Istanbul – Feeding stray cats and dogs” →

Bristol – Volunteers and fundraising

Bristol has recruited an ‘army’ of volunteers through Can Do Bristol to help with response to coronavirus. They collect and distribute food. The city is also raising funds to support the local grant giving funder, Quartet Community Foundation who launched a Coronavirus Appeal Fund with funds distributed to local communities to address need.

Contact: Paul Davies

Toulouse – Food to the isolated

Toulouse is distributing food to isolated elderly and disabled persons. The food kits are delivered every Wednesday by teams of civil servants from the municipality, and contain bread, tin cans, hard cheese, fruits, compote and biscuits.

The beneficiaries of the the scheme were identified and registered by a senior service hotline, and by a census established by the municipal services with the help of an associative network, social landlords and social workers at the psychiatric hospital. Read more (in French) here.

https://www.toulouse.fr/web/social/-/actu-la-mairie-de-mobilise-pour-les-plus-fragiles?redirect=%2Fweb%2Fla-mairie%2Fcoronavirus-covid-19

Contact: Isabelle Durou

Nice – Childcare for food workers

Nice is extending the childcare which it has been providing for health workers and other providers of necessary services to include the children of those involved in the food industry. The city already organises daycare for the children of many types essential personnel whom the national education system does not provide any service for. Read more (in French) here.

Contact: Jérôme Sieurin

Dusseldorf – Rules against panic buying

In order to regulate the dispensed quantity of goods and counteract panic buying, the city of Dusseldorf has issued a general ruling. Supermarkets are instructed to only give out restricted amounts of goods in order to ensure a steady flow of goods for the population. The regulation follows disproportionate purchases of staple food, canned goods and toilet paper. Read more here (in German)

Contact: Stefanie Nietfeld

Madrid – Prepaid food cards for families

The Madrid City Council has established public-private partnerships to provide families in need with prepaid cards to buy food and basic necessities in the corona crisis. CaixaBank, through its Social Action and in collaboration with Obra Social La Caixa, has made a grant of €200,000 available to the City Council to assist 2,000 families in a situation of vulnerability. And thanks to the contribution of €100,000 made by the department store group El Corte Inglés through the Ramón Areces Foundation, prepaid cards to 500 families at risk of exclusion and new equipment to the shelters for the homeless can be provided. Through these partnerships, the Madrid City Council is strengthening its Family Emergency Plan to alleviate the effects of the health crisis caused by the coronavirus on the most vulnerable. Read more here and here (in Spanish)

Contact: Ana Buñuel

Leipzig – Expanded facilities for homeless people

The City of Leipzig has expanded its facilities for homeless people. Emergency shelters are now open day and night and provide free breakfast, lunch and supper. A new facility with 50 extra places has been set up to answer to the growing demand due to the current exit restrictions. Read more here

Contact: Christin Rettke

Beşiktaş – Aid to residents

Beşiktaş Municipality has created an online service providing psychological, nutritional and physiotherapy services, as well as family counselling to all residents who have to stay at home. Read more about this service (in Turkish) here.

Support from the municipality is also physical. Beşiktaş, besides its own extensive disinfection procedure, is handing out bags full of necessary hygienic equipment to residents, and is delivering food supplies to residents over 65 years old and to other people in need with the help of local police. The Mayor has joined social welfare workers in preparing the support boxes. Read more about this here.

The municipality is also delivering aid to people with chronic diseases, over 65s, and disabled people who are in social isolation, including hands on medical support and examination, and online medical consultation. Read more (in Turkish) here. To take care of health workers, the city has made student dormitories available to health workers. Read more (in Turkish) here.

Contact: foreignaffairs@besiktas.bel.tr

Beşiktaş – None left hungry

Beşiktaş Municipality is taking action with the local veterinary service to ensure that animals living on the street are fed regularly. These animals are usually fed regularly by owners of the restaurants, shopkeepers, and market workers. However, since these businesses were closed the animals would have been in danger of going hungry. Read more (in Turkish) here.

Contact: foreignaffairs@besiktas.bel.tr

Turin – Solidarity network

As capital city of Piedmont, Italy, Turin is organising its measures in the corona crisis in close cooperation with the regional and national level. The Municipal Operational Centre is constantly in contact with the Crisis Unit of the Piedmont Region. Social services for the elderly are taking care of other people in need now, and a new system for the supply of free food has been created.

Continue reading “Turin – Solidarity network” →

Nice – City kitchen

The central kitchen of Nice has been mobilized since the start of confinement to feed those in need, including the children of health and essential service personnel. Currently, up to 2,000 meals are prepared every day by 60 municipal officers (compared to 102 usually) divided into three brigades. Hygiene standards, which are already strict in normal times in the kitchen, have been reinforced in the context of this exceptional situation to ensure the personnel present the guarantees necessary for their safety. Read more (in French) here.

Contact: Jérôme Sieurin

Zaragoza – Taking care of seniors (update)

Zaragoza City Council, Ibercaja Foundation and Ibercaja Bank have set up a fundraising platform collecting and managing donations from individuals and from the private sector. The funds will be used to help the elderly by providing food, psychological support, etc… As a first goal, Zaragoza wants to guarantee the home delivery of 500 daily meals. Read more here

Contact: Lorena Calvo

Milan – Ensuring food aid in the crisis

An increasing number of people in Milan is in need of food aid. From the seven food hubs that the city has created across the city, in the first week a total of 1,000 people were supplied. During the second week that number rose to 7,000 people, and it is expected that 15,000 people will be in need of food aid each week in the weeks to come. In order to ensure safety, especially in the transport and handling of food, the volunteers and other workers are provided with masks, gloves and a special training.  A strict protocol has been put in place; you can download the guidelines here and read more here.

Contact: Olimpia Vaccarino Aureli

Nice – Over thousand meals a day for the homeless

Homeless people are housed in different locations in the French city of Nice, from night shelters and schools to hotels and youth hostels. In all places, meals are offered. The central kitchen of the city of Nice provides meals for people staying in hotels. Between 1,000 and 1,400 meals or picnics are distributed per day. Read more here (in French)

Contact: Jérôme Sieurin

Bologna – United we shop

Elderly, disabled and other people who need assistance get home delivery of groceries and medicines via a new service that started this week in Bologna. The initiative “L’Unione fa la spesa” (United we shop) is a joint venture by the municipality, Coop Alleanza 3.0 (the largest consumers’ cooperative in Italy) and representatives of the voluntary sector. Read more here

Contact: Francesca Martinese

Tallinn – School lunch continues

Students of Tallinn’s schools will be able to continue to get a daily free school lunch under a special arrangement approved by the city’s authorities. Normally, school lunch is free in Tallinn for the students, but due to the emergency situation all schools are closed in Estonia. As for some children  the school lunch is the only hot meal during the day, the Tallinn has decided to continue to make free school lunches available to students who need it.

Schools will inform families about the availability of a free meal and where the students can get it via the eKool (e-School) online environment and the schools’ web pages. To start getting free school lunches, the family must inform the school, as the number of meals prepared will depend on the number of those who wish to get them.

“Since for some children the school lunch is the only hot meal of the day, we do not consider it possible to deprive the children of it. Therefore the Tallinn crisis committee decided to arrange for the provision of hot school meals for the children in need of help,” Deputy Mayor Vadim Belobrovtsev said. “The most important thing in the current situation is caring, and for aid to reach the children who need it most,” the deputy mayor said, urging schools and families to work together on this. Read more (in Estonian) here.

Contact: Kerttu Märtin

Lille Metropole – Support to hospitals

Lille Metropole is supporting local hospitals by supplying barriers and security guards, new signage and food from the reserves of the municipal office’s restaurant. The metropole is also working to promote the production of protective masks for caregivers by local textile companies and independent dressmakers. Read more (in French) here.

Contact: Christophe Bolot

Pendik – Police goes shopping for the elderly

In the Turkish city of Pendik, the municipal police goes shopping for people aged 65 and older who have to stay at home due to the coronavirus. Residents can ring the police and the goods will be delivered to their homes. The service is also available for people with disabilities and chronic diseases, and people who need homecare. Read more here (in Turkish)

Contact: Oğuz Karakaya

Pau – Home-meal service by the municipality

Municipal kitchens prepare meals for people who cannot go shopping : elderly, isolated, disabled, or single women with dependent children. These meals are delivered by employees of the city of Pau, usually working in municipal departments which are now closed, as swimming pools. The city has also opened a telephone hotline for psychological support where even politicians take turns to answer the calls. Read more here (in French)

Contact: Valérie Demangel

Milan – Creating a coordination centre for all over 65s services

The municipality of Milan has set up an operational base to organise the transport of goods (food, medicines or other basic necessities) and provide other support services for the over 65, as well as other people who have other chronic conditions or are  immunocompromised that have been ordered to stay at home.

A parallel action undertaken by the city includes the creation of seven food hubs for distribution to those unable to leave their home, and the training of 3,000 people who applied to become volunteers.

Read more here and here

Contact: Olimpia Vaccarino Aureli