Vatican City, Feb 24, 2017 / 04:39 am
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."