To provide additional support to vulnerable communities during the Easter holidays, Lidl Romania, together with the Food Bank and with the support of FEPRA, organized the tenth edition of the food collection drive for three days in April. The action took place nationwide, in all Lidl stores across the country, with the donated products collected by the 2,743 volunteers of the Food Banks and distributed to 207 NGOs from various regions of the country by the end of April. In total, over 181 tons of food were collected, reaching over 42,000 vulnerable individuals in nursing homes, foster care centers for minors, soup kitchens, or shelters.

The donated products included non-perishable items such as basic foods (oil, flour, sugar, rice, baking ingredients), canned vegetables, canned meat, canned fruits, pasta, sauces, UHT milk (shelf-stable), packaged bakery products, biscuits, coffee, tea, jam, and preserves. All nine Regional Food Banks of the network participated in this edition of the collection campaign, located in Bucharest, Cluj, Roman, Brasov, Oradea, Timisoara, Constanta, Craiova, and Galati.

Here are some key figures illustrating the impact of community solidarity:

Cereals and bakery products represented approximately half of the collected quantity, followed by fats and oils, protein-based products, and confectionery items.
Customers made record donations at Lidl stores in Huși, Vaslui County (5,148 kg), Râmnicu Vâlcea, Vâlcea County (3,252 kg), and Târgu Lăpuș, Maramureș County (3,232 kg).
At the regional level, the largest quantities of food were collected and directed by the Food Bank Cluj (over 41 tons), Roman (over 28 tons), and Bucharest (over 23 tons), to 104 beneficiary NGOs.
Food collections organized at Lidl stores are not the only actions through which the retailer aims to support the mission of the Food Bank. As a founding partner, the retailer has committed to financially support the startup costs for each newly established Regional Bank and a portion of the operating costs, as well as to contribute to the development of infrastructure for such a network.