Christmas Food Collection

Hungary's biggest food collection to help people in need

Every year since 2006, the Hungarian Food Bank Association organizes its three-day Christmas fundraiser to help people in need during the festive period. We ask the country's population to think of people and families in need, and to put a non-perishable food item of their choice in their shopping basket for them as well.

Over the years campaign has grown to the country's largest non-perishable food collection. Reatilers like Tesco, ALDI, Auchan, METRO provide space in their stores as collection points. Hundreds of charitable organizations and thousands of volunteers participate in the collaboration, which ended with a record-breaking result of 348 tons in 2021. We could put together food packages for 70,000 people in need from the donations and deliver them to their destination during the holidays and in the coldest days of January.

 

The food collection in 2022

  • Date: november 18-19-20. (Friday-Sunday)
  • We await donations on Friday from 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., on Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., and on Sunday from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
  • Donations can be dropped off at the collection points near the cash desks. The Food Bank volunteers wear green vest.
  • List of retail stores participating the campaign (Tesco, ALDI, Auchan, METRO): https://bit.ly/aruhazlista2022
  • For those in need, canned meat or ready meals, rice, pasta, sauces, baby food, biscuits, chocolate, long-lasting milk, sweets and products that do not require further cooling are the most helpful.

 

You can help people close to where you live!

The donations will get delivered by the Food Bank to people in need with the cooperation of the charitable organizations operating close to the retail stores. The donations mainly help the elderly, large families, children's homes, people with disabilities, the homeless and residents of the country's smallest villages, most disadvantaged areas, in the weeks before the holidays and after that until the end of January.

Tesco also provides financial support to the Food Bank equal to 20% of the value of the products donated by its customers during the 3 days, with which it also contributes to the Association's core activity, the year-round food rescue work.

In 2021, the non-perishable food collection action hit all previous records: 223 kilos of donations were received from well-intentioned donors every minute of the three-day campaign. Watch our short video on the collection and the impact of the donations!

 

If you cannot make it to these stores listed above during the allotted period, but you would gladly support the Foodbank’s cause, we are accepting donations to the following bank account throughout the year 10700024-66676548-51100005  or you also have the option to make a donation via bank card on our website.

 

 

Who we work for. What does the Christmas Fundraising means? Our collecting team’s report:

“Mom, look, we got food.” – said a barefoot kid, who ran in front of our truck delivering the donations. When I heard this sentence, I had to fight back my tears as I am the one helping here, and it would have been inappropriate.

"I knew, that they will be happy and will be waiting the package this year, again. These families are expecting the cocoa, chocolate, jam and other treats we collect in every December. We arrive to less fortunate kids & families in December just before Christmas"

"Last year, I was at a family with six kids. The mother provides for the children, respectively, her 16-year-old son, who works besides being a full-time student, so he can contribute to the family budget. This food received through the Foodbank, is an incredible help for them."

"The excessive amount of joy and smile that flowed towards me, stayed in my head all year and now that the new Christmas Foodbank initiative is just around the corner, we’d like to encourage everyone, to think for others as well, when doing the shopping, as with their help there could be food on the table of the ones in need."

“Just like them, I won’t forget either those moments, when they quietly, speechlessly unloaded the Christmas donations from our trucks.”

For the ones in need living in a small village, this donation is vital, as many of them can only manage to put food on the table during the holidays from these donations. Also, we could mention families with kids, who has only these couple of pieces of sweets for the kids for Christmas, which we bring them.

“We have just began creating the distribution plan. We’re already at 74 families and 18 from them we can see this will be the biggest present. I think it is unnecessary to write more on this…”

"I was worried a little that there would be less customers in the stores at the end of the month, however, luckily, it wasn’t the case. I became completely exhausted by the Sunday evening, nevertheless the feeling I had compensated. It is a feeling that I think everyone should experience. I must admit, there were moments where I was so moved, that I had to hold back my tears and could literally could hug the donors."

"Our support means a lot for people in need and for us as well. Many of the kids are not even familiar with the type of chocolates and sweets we give them. The received food is a huge help for the parents as well as without this they wouldn’t have food on the table during the holidays."

"Couple of weeks ago (beginning of November!) one of the families sold their stove, so they could buy food to their children…this is what it means."

"The collected donations mean a lot to the families, since in many households they don’t have food for the whole month, additionally, they don’t have the funds to buy Christmas presents. It feels good for them to receive something."

"For some of the families, a couple of kilos of non-perishable food are the means of sustenance. I personally know many families, who are recipients of the donations, which made them extremely happy. They unwrapped the boxes like it had treasures in them."

"It means a lot. There have been many feedbacks, saying that these families had basically nothing left to eat at home anymore and that they are extremely grateful that we thought about them. This brought everyone together, I know that for a fact that some of the donors themselves have not much to give but helped anyway. Thanks to this, a new initiative started, which involves donation of clothes and Christmas trees – again supported by people who don’t necessarily have much to give but give nevertheless. This message of this weekend made lot of people realize that giving is good. Lot of the people said that they’d be happy to support us in the future too."

"From the basic items, the Christmas lunch or dinner is made. The chocolates and sweets are more anticipated by the elders and the kids very much. There are pensioners who use these sweets as a gift to their grandchildren, for whom these are extremely special gifts. People are tremendously grateful for the help, and for us it is always a touching moment to see a moved grandmother, a kid jumping around from joy or a speechless mother looking at the donations…"

  • You can check the results of the 2018 November 23-24-25 donation here
  • You can check the results of the 2017 November 24-25-26 donation here
  • You can check the results of the 2016 November 25-26-27 donation here
  • You can check the results of the 2015 November 27-28-29 donation here
  • You can check the results of the 2014 November 28-29 donation here
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