A new chapter in this cooperative effort was introduced Friday on Costa Diadema, during the vessel’s call at Civitavecchia (Rome).
The food prepared but not served in the ship’s restaurants will now be collected for distribution to a local organisation that helps disadvantaged young people.
Five months after the Costa food donation programme began in Savona, 8,500 portions have been provided for people in need, and now Civitavecchia is the second port-city to join the scheme.
The Hon. Maria Chiara Gadda, the Italian parliamentarian who sponsored and introduced a law that encourages the donation of surplus food, stated: ‘Today I’m very happy to inaugurate the second step of this initiative, that I’m sure will soon involve more and more ports in Italy and I hope also in Europe.’
Marco Lucchini, general manager of Fondazione Banco Alimentare Onlus, explained, ‘from now on another 36 young people will benefit from very high-quality dishes, based both on taste and also on nutritional value: this initiative makes us proud and repays all the efforts made to achieve this excellent result. We are ready to implement next steps of this important project, hoping that it will involve soon also the port of Palermo.’
Giuseppe Carino, vp guest experience at Costa Cruises said the opening up of a second operation in Civitavecchia, ‘is a concrete sign of our commitment to roll it out to other Italian ports.’
He referred to it as a world first in the cruise sector.
He said that Costa is working to extend the program to other ships in the Costa fleet and to other Mediterranean ports of call.
‘Joined-up thinking is crucial on this issue, and I am glad to thank the Italian customs authorities, Agenzia delle Dogane, and the maritime health office, Sanità Marittima, for all their efforts to ensure a smoothly run operation, and every other group that has helped to make this project possible,’ Carino added.
Costa Diadema is deployed on week-long cruises in the Mediterranean throughout the year, calling at Civitavecchia every Friday. On the Thursday before, all the ready-to-eat dishes prepared in the restaurant areas but not served to guests will be collected. The meals will be placed in aluminium containers, which are then sealed, labelled for traceability and kept in on-board refrigerators. The next morning, after the ship berths in Civitavecchia, the containers will be unloaded and delivered to Banco Alimentare volunteers, who will take them to the charity La Repubblica dei Ragazzi, a community that provides support and education for young people with serious family problems.
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