A new “Mobile Kitchen” which will be able to provide at least 100 cooked and healthy meals per week to the homeless in the city of Padova.
Second initiative in a short time carried out by Ark Project Foundation and JTI Italy after the first test done at BariThe project is carried out in collaboration with theMunicipal administrationthe social cooperative cosep and the voluntary association We on the Road.
La “Mobile Kitchen” is a food truck equipped with ovens, refrigerators and kettles that will travel the city streets distributing full meals to the homeless of Padova: a first and a second course based on carbohydrates, meat and vegetables, a soup, a tea, a backpack containing a breakfast for the next morning. All thanks to dozens of volunteers at the service of the community.
The inauguration of the project was held in the station square with the president of Progetto Arca Onlus Alberto Sinigallia, the deputy mayor Andrea Micalizzi, the councilor for social policies Margherita Colonnello, the president of the association Noi sulla Strada Francesca Simonini, the president of the social cooperative Cosep Salvatore Russotto e Lorenzo Fronteddu, Corporate Affairs & Communications Director of JTI Italia.
The “Mobile Kitchen” service was born in the period of lockdown and services closed due to the Covid to offer support to those who need it most. An important initiative for the community that will be further strengthened in the winter period, to also reach the reception facilities far from the center and that risk suffering the low temperatures of the period that is approaching.
"It was March two years ago when we started meeting lonely people on the streets who hadn't eaten for days: from there the need arose to improve our daily service to be truly close to those who are most fragile. So we 'put wheels on the kitchen' and today the Mobile Kitchen, which started in Milan just a few evenings a week, has met with great success and multiplied the number of meals distributed and the number of cities reached. - commented Alberto Sinigallia, president of Progetto Arca – Thanks to all the volunteers for their precious work and thanks to JTI Italia, who has been at our side for years in supporting those who live in fragility, which has allowed the purchase of the new food truck in Padua and the continuous supply of food to cook and dispense for all the coming months”.
“An initiative that brings the Municipality of Padua to be ever closer to the people, in the wake of a commitment and a challenge that in the coming months, thanks to the current situation, will be ever more intense. – declared the deputy mayor of Padua, Andrea Micalizzi –. My thanks on behalf of the entire Administration go to those who are on the front lines every day to respond in a concrete way to the needs of all people".
The Councilor for Social Policies of the Municipality of Padua Margherita Colonnello added that “the Mobile Kitchen project is part of a social and solidarity reality that is already very active in the Padua area. In this sense, it represents a further opportunity to create synergies and respond to the needs of marginalized people in a perspective of collaboration between the Municipality and the Third Sector”.
“The Mobile Kitchen project represents an important opportunity for the Noi sulla Strada association - commented Francesca Simonini, president of the association Noi Sulla Strada – which will not only guarantee a hot meal to people who live on the streets and are often not reached by any type of service, but also strengthen the network of relationships with homeless people, creating greater opportunities for connection and sharing in the area".
“For us at JTI Italia, guaranteeing concrete help to people in difficulty represents a fundamental pillar - he has declared Lorenzo Fronteddu, Corporate Affairs & Communications Director of JTI Italy -. We are aware of the difficulties that hundreds of people and families face every day. We know that the food emergency is one of the most dramatically current aspects and that is why we are so proud to be able to inaugurate together with Fondazione Progetto Arca, after the one in Bari, the mobile kitchen service also in Padua. The Food Truck is a fundamental tool to offer support to the homeless, reaching them where they need it most. Furthermore, as JTI Italia we are proud to collaborate with Arca also in the distribution of food parcels for those families who, given the current complex situation, are no longer able to provide for a primary necessity such as food. The collaboration between all the subjects in the field, companies, institutions and associations of the territory, is the formula for these initiatives to become a real success and a first step towards a better future”.
Article published on 13 October 2022 - 12:13
