Just over four million Italians
required food aid in 2013, farmers' association Coldiretti said
on Thursday.
Specifically, 303,485 people ate charity soup kitchen meals
and a further 3,764,765 - particularly pensioners, the
unemployed and families with small children - received
assistance in the form of food parcels, Coldiretti said.
The association added that the number of people seeking
food aid has risen significantly in recent years, from 2.7
million in 2010 to 3.3 million in 2011 and 3.7 million in 2012,
as Italy struggles to emerge from its longest and deepest
recession since the Second World War.
However, the figures - reported on the same day that
national statistics agency Istat said 28% of Italians were at
risk of poverty or social exclusion in 2013 - represent only the
tip of the iceberg, Coldiretti said, adding that 14.2% of
families were unable to afford a meal with an adequate protein
content at least once every two days.
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