Prague's new pop-up food bank helps people in need

A new food bank outlet opened at the beginning of June in Prague 2, which allows people in need to collect food every Monday from 9 a.m. to midday. Located in the courtyard of the New Town Hall, this is now the fourth outlet run by the Food Bank for Prague and Central Bohemia (FBPCB) organization. 

Upon people’s first visit, they must bring their identity card and a letter that proves they are in need either from the Czech Social Security Administration, the Labor Office, or Czechia’s main child welfare authority.

The FBPCB also has an outlet for long-term unemployed and homeless people in the Prague 10 neighborhood Vršovice, a branch in the Prague 4 neighborhood Nusle for mothers and children (which also offers childcare facilities), and a center in New Town for seniors and disabled people. According to the director of the bank Věra Doušková, the most common foods on offer are pasta, pastries, rice, sugar, and vegetables.

Food banks nationwide have recently been struggling in Czechia. In April the chairman of the Czech Federation of Food Banks (CFFB) said that the country’s food banks were “almost empty.”

The increased need for food banks is due to rampant inflation in Czechia that has bumped up prices in the past 12 months and diminished people’s disposable income. A report from November 2022 found that poverty in Czechia rose to 14 percent, with one in 10 people in Czechia living below the poverty line.

There are a total of 15 food banks across Czechia, with seasonal collection rounds helping replenish supplies. The last call for donations was in April. Amid still-high inflation, the new opening will help the most vulnerable people in Prague and may precipitate more donations in the capital.