Food bank gets 4,000 applications

The number of applicants for the local association Caritas-run food bank has almost doubled in the last few weeks, secretary general Paul Pun Chin Meng told reporters on Saturday.
According to TDM News, Pun said that more than 4,000 people have applied for the food bank services since it began operating four months ago. This figure is a big increase from the 2,232 applications received by December 23.
He believes it will reach the government’s target of helping 6,000 people by 2013.
Caritas launched the programme in September last year after having signed a cooperation agreement with the Social Welfare Bureau (IAS), which allocated MOP 10 million to cover the expenses for two years.
After operating the food bank for a year and a half, the government wanted the service ‘to reach more people’, said IAS president Iong Kong Io last April.
The Roman-Catholic charity association has already reached more people than 1,000 families and 2,000 people the government-run food bank helped between July 2009 and April 2011.
The short-term food assistance programme is aimed at enabling those that are not qualified for the IAS’ subsidies to get some assistance.
Beneficiaries will receive rice, cereals, noodles, fruits, cookies, canned food and eggs in each batch. Households with babies will also receive powdered milk.

New Year donations

The applicants can only ask for assistance once and for a maximum of 42 days and then they have to find help from another channel, such as the MOP 3,200 subsistence index allowance.
The programme targets unemployed people, those who have just arrived in Macau (for at least 18 months), homeless, people on the waiting list for receiving the IAS minimum subsistence allowance and those who find themselves in unexpected situations, due to natural disasters or fires for instance.
In November, Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai On announced that the income cap for the food bank would be raised to 1.7 times the minimum subsistence index, an increase from MOP 4,500 to about 5,400.
In the meantime, last weekend Caritas distributed bags containing daily necessities to 150 disadvantaged local families. These bags contain foodstuffs and other daily-use goods, which were offered by local donors.
“They will help to improve the mood of some people and it will increase their confidence,” Pun pointed out. Some recipients have offered to help Caritas in their activities.
“This allows us to be involved in other areas of social services. They even help us to do visits to some needy families,” the social worker added.
“These activities are not only about bringing them goods that they need, but also serve the purpose of expanding our network of contacts,” he said.