Spain: one million people go hungry

One million people in Spain are going hungry, church agencies report this week. They say children are suffering the most.

To cope with this emergency, the Association Mensajeros de la Paz, founded and directed by Padre Angel Garcia has turned part of his office in Madrid into a soup kitchen for children between two and 14 years of age from the poorest families, to help them in their development and do their homework.

Thousands of children in Spain eat only at school. During the rest of the day they have nothing. Fr Angel's new soup kitchen, which is being served by volunteers, can accommodate a hundred children and give them a snack-dinner. The first session was attended by 30 children, accompanied by parents or guardians, or in most cases, grandparents. After they have had something to eat, if they want, children can get help from volunteers with their homework.

The situation in Spain is getting worse because of the international economic crisis. According to Caritas, there has been a increase over the last six years of people attending the 'social canteens', and the numbers continue to rise. Caritas alone has responded to 6.5 million requests for help. This is a rise of 5% on 2010. About 30% of guests had not been to a Catholic canteen before the recession hit.

For more information on Mensajeros de la Paz see: www.mensajerosdelapaz.com/index

Source: Fides/MdlP