Bucharest City Hall wants to find new ways to develop the services for vulnerable social groups. Mayor Gabriela Firea met with representatives of the General Directorate of Social Assistance Bucharest at the end of last week to find solutions.

One of the measures proposed during the meeting was the creation of a food bank in Bucharest, as the Romanian capital is the only capital in Europe without such a place. The food donated by manufacturers and large retail chains would be stored in the food bank, processed, and then distributed to those who need it.

“I’m very determined to lay the foundation for the food bank project because it is a natural part of the process to prevent food waste,” said the Bucharest mayor.

“I explained that we'd identified a building that could host this food bank, and that we would want to access EU funds to arrange it,” she added.

Bucharest City Hall also wants to increase the number of accommodation places for the homeless in winter. There are currently 700 such places in Bucharest.

“As a temporary solution for this winter, we’ll put to the General Council’s vote the possibility to purchase or rent some containers to supplement the accommodation places, while next year we’ll develop other centers for the homeless,” Firea said.

The Bucharest mayor would also want to develop a network of social laundries. The Romanian capital currently has two such laundries, but the mayor would want at least one in every District.

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Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com