Costa Cruises resumes food donation program in Barcelona
Beyond destinations, ships and experiences, there is something quite special that cruise lines do: movements to help others. This story is about one of those actions by Costa Cruises.
It is not the first time that we see Costa launching initiatives for a better world. When I told you about Archipelago, the new restaurant on the fleet, I commented about the commitment to sustainability by the Costa Crociere Foundation. This time, we are talking about commitment to people, since Costa has resumed the food donation project with the Barcelona Food Bank after the pandemic. Let's put some context first.
Cruise ships are part of an industry that over the years has become aware of how important it is to adapt to a way of travelling that is more respectful of the world, and part of it is not wasting resources. Renewable energies, cleaner fuels, fewer disposable items... There are many proposals that today improve the relationship of cruise ships with the environment. However, there is something that we cannot ignore: every day aboard each cruise ship, food is cooked for thousands of people and this, like everything else, produces surpluses that in most cases end up being wasted. If we multiply this fact by all the ships that sail the world and all the people with few resources, we arrive at a solution that may seem quite obvious but is not so common to put into practice.
During the event at the Costa Smeralda on January 16, those responsible for Costa and the Food Bank told us that beyond logistics, the main problem in carrying out these projects is usually all the laws and regulations that they have to approve. Ships, being in international waters, have a much more difficult time importing, exporting or even donating food, as in this case. Even so, the company's efforts and the collaboration of many entities have made resuming the food donation initiative a reality once again, as it was in the past.
It works as follows: every time a Costa ship docks in Barcelona, the crew disembarks the surplus food prepared and not served from the previous day, which is in perfect condition, and the Food Bank collects it and distributes it to the city. For now, these dishes are distributed between two entities: the Fundació Acollida i Esperança and the Hogar de Nuestra Señora de Lourdes. Representatives of both were present during the food collection, which was 84kg. This same gesture will be repeated every week by the Smeralda and the rest of the fleet and it is expected that it will soon be carried out in other Spanish and Mediterranean ports.
The members of the associations themselves told us how much it benefits them to receive this food for all the people they accommodate, and they also detailed that beyond the dishes prepared to serve the same day, many other foods such as bread and pastries from breakfast served them for several days since they arrived practically freshly made.
Undoubtedly, each gesture is a great contribution. I hope more ports and shipping companies will join, since when there is a surplus in one place and a lack in another, there is nothing better than being able to show solidarity and contribute so that every action counts.
All the photos and videos of the event are available on Instagram, at the featured story Costa Event.