In a bid to help local economies in the zones ravaged by several
major earthquakes in 2016 recover, the Vatican this week purchased
produce from several small farmers in the area, using it to feed the
poor and homeless in Rome.
A Feb. 24 communique from the Papal Almoner’s office said that “at
the express wish” of the Pope, Archbishop Konrad Krajewski, the man in
charge of managing the papal charities, visited the earthquake zones in
Central Italy this week “to purchase from small farmers, in great
difficulty due to the earthquake, food typical of the affected areas.”
The produce was then “immediately distributed” in different soup
kitchens around Rome to be used in preparing the daily meals offered to
homeless and persons in need.
According to the communique, Annona, the supermarket inside Vatican
City, has already for some time been selling products “typical of the
earthquake zones” as a way of “supporting and helping to restart the
economy in that part of Central Italy still in difficulty.”
Krajewski traveled to several of the small towns in the area, filling
large trucks with products from farmers whose stores or markets
struggling to continue after the damages they endured after the
earthquakes.
The first 6.2 magnitude quake hit in the early hours of Aug. 24,
2016, killing some 250 people throughout Central Italy and leveling
buildings and houses in several small towns, leaving many without homes
or livelihoods.
A few months later a second 6.6 quake hit near the same area in central Italy Oct. 30, causing extensive damage.
In the communique, the papal almoner said the decision to shop from
small farmers is an act consistent “with the magisterium of Pope
Francis, who in his meetings has often recalled that ‘when one doesn’t
earn their bread, dignity is lost.’”
During his “shopping trips” Archbishop Krajewski was accompanied by
the bishops of each of the cities he visited, including Bishop Domenico
Pompili of Rieti; Bishop Giovanni D’Ercole F.D.P. of Ascoli Piceno;
Bishop Francesco Giovanni Brugnaro of Camerino-San Severino Marche and
Bishop Renato Boccardo of Spoleto-Norcia.
In each city the bishops identified groups of farmers or producers
“whose stores were at risk of closing due to damages caused by the
earthquake,” the communique read, explaining that the purchases were
intended by the Pope to be a sign of help and encouragement “to continue
in their activities.”