Poverty in Italy where Lamborghinis are selling like hot cakes and thousands of families (79% more by 2021) resort to charity canteens

ROME – We are in the country (ours) where the Lamborghinis are selling like hot cakes and the leaders of the Bolognese company (but of the Audi group) let it be known that in the first 9 months of this year there was an 8% increase in production and it is all sold until 2024: cars costing from a minimum of 198,972 to a maximum of 472,698 euros. In the meantime, those who deal with poverty every day and monitor its pulse, inform us that the number of families forced to turn to Franciscan canteens to survive has increased by 79%, with a visible worsening of the situation: in 2021 + 8% compared to 2020; in 2022 + 18% compared to 2021. This is what emerges from an analysis carried out by Antoniano on the 18 Franciscan structures of the network “Operation Pane“distributed throughout the national territory.Antoniano – it should be remembered – it starts from the daily meal to help those living in difficulty to get back to life, to hope for the future. “We convey our values ​​through the music of Small Choir – reads their website – and through culture we carry out our projects thanks to those who share these values ​​with us “.

In summary, some data from the report. In 2022, 1,400 families have already turned to the Franciscan canteens of the network (778 in 2019, 1,210 in 2020, 1,309 in 2021). An alarming figure, in line with the latest Istat Italy 2022 report according to which in 2021 just over 1.9 million families (7.5% of the total) and about 5.6 million individuals (9.4%) were in absolute poverty. The pandemic – and now also the effects of the economic crisis linked to the international situation – have worsened the condition of those who were already living in distress, putting many families in difficulty, penalized by the loss of work and the increase in the cost of living. In 2022 there are already almost 10,000 people supported by the Franciscan structures of Operation Paneincluding over 800 mothers and 700 fathers, for a total of approximately 1,400 families and over 1,500 children.

Not just families, even individuals. However, it is not just families who ask for help: in 2022, almost 7,000 individuals turned to the canteens of Operation Paneregistering an increase of 10% compared to the 6,300 people who asked for help in 2021. “From 2019 to today – underlines the director of theAntonianoGiampaolo Cavalli – we have seen an increase year after year in the number of families who turn to the canteens of Operation Pane for a hot meal or for support in daily expenses. The situation is already serious – he adds – and the economic crisis we are experiencing can only exacerbate the problem. We have already seen an increase in requests for help to support the cost of living: people who turn to the structures of the Operazione Pane network are no longer asking only for food support, but also for economic help to pay bills, rent and buy school books for the children. “

The solidarity number: 45588. To guarantee a hot meal and concrete help to the thousands of families and lonely people living in distress, theAntoniano launched a campaign supportive sms which will be active from 10 November to 9 December. To make a contribution, just send a text message or make a landline phone call to solidarity number 45588. “On the occasion of the VI World Day of the Poor which is next November 13 – adds Giampaolo Cavalli – we want to make the words of Pope Francis our own: let us commit ourselves, as a community, so that no one lacks what is necessary. “Let us reach out to others” and reflect on our lifestyle and the many poverty of the present “. The solidarity initiative is the beating heart of the”Zecchino d’Oro“and has in the Choir of the Antoniano its first spokesperson. The Zecchino d’Oro it was born, in fact, to spread the values ​​of peace, fraternity and hope through the music and singing of children and has always been linked to the support of this solidarity initiative in favor of people welcomed by Franciscan realities.

“Operation bread” in Italy. The Italian Franciscan realities of the “Operation Pane” network are located in Palermo, Catanzaro, La Spezia, Bordighera, Turin, Verona, Bologna, Pavia, Monza, Milan, Lonigo, Voghera, Baccanello, Rome (two Franciscan realities), Bari, Castellamare of Stabia, Parma. In 2022, the eighteen canteens have already distributed a total of almost 39,000 meals per month, an increase of 6% compared to around 36,700 in 2021.

“Operation bread” in the world. The solidarity project Operation Pane also supports five Franciscan structures in the world: one in Aleppo, Syria, which – by distributing over 1,000 meals a day – helps 3,000 families, including 7,000 children; three in Ukraine in Konotop, Odessa and Kiev and one in Braila, Romania. The latter entered the solidarity network of Operation Pane in the last year, following the war in Ukraine: the three Ukrainian Franciscan structures every day distribute meals, basic necessities and medicines, as well as offer assistance to the elderly and those who have remained in cities massacred by war; the nuns of the convent of Braila support mothers and children who cross the Ukrainian border, not only with primary aid but with concrete support to integrate and enter the world of work, starting with the teaching of the Romanian language.