The cruise ship Costa Toscana donated surplus food to local charities during its call at the Port of Cagliari, Italy.
Around 80 kilograms of surplus food were unloaded from Costa Toscana at the Port of Cagliari and donated to organizations supporting people in need. The carefully packaged food will be used by the Caritas soup kitchen and Mensa del Viandante.
The donation is part of a long-running partnership involving Costa Cruises, the Port System Authority of the Sea of Sardinia and local volunteer organizations. Along with providing meals for vulnerable residents, the initiative helps prevent good food from being discarded.
Representatives from the port authority, the Sardinian Food Bank, Cagliari Cruise Port, Caritas and Mensa del Viandante attended the handover at Rinascita Pier.
Costa Toscana is scheduled to make 14 calls in Cagliari between August 4 and November 3. Surplus food collected during these visits will be distributed alternately between Caritas and Mensa del Viandante.
Similar donations are already being made by ferry operators at other Sardinian ports. Corsica Sardinia Ferries supports Caritas in Golfo Aranci, while Moby provides food to the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul in Olbia. These efforts form part of the “Solidarity Food Supply” project, which organizers hope to expand to more ports, shipping companies and vessels.
Domenico Bagalà, president of the Port System Authority of the Sea of Sardinia, said cooperation between ports, shipping companies and volunteers shows how maritime activity can directly benefit local communities.
