Food Income is unlocked, unsold products will be distributed free of charge

The food income is unlocked. Five months after the budget law that had introduced it with the aim of supporting families in difficulty and reducing food waste, the Minister of Labor and Social Policies has finally signed the implementing decree which establishes the conditions for the three-year experimentation of this new tool. With the decree, which is now being examined by the Court of Auditors, as explained in a note from the ministry, the methods for implementing the measure, the audience of beneficiaries and how to allocate the financial resources (1.5 million euros in 2023 and 2 million annually from 2024), supplementing those already provided for by the National Program ”Inclusion and fight against poverty 2021-2027”.

The experimentation, which will be implemented in some capital municipalities of metropolitan cities identified in the Joint Conference, foresees that the unsold products of the shops – because they are unsuitable for sale due to damaged packaging or close to expiring – are distributed free of charge in the form of food parcels, even through third sector organizations. This new tool joins other initiatives for the distribution of foodstuffs to combat severe poverty ranging from the National Fund at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry, to the PO I FEAD Program for the period 2014-2020, up to the new NP Inclusion and fight against poverty 2021-2027.