A total of 85 Social Welfare Organizations supervised by the National Council of the Elderly (CONAPAM), benefit from the donation of 13 thousand kilos of meat by the Livestock Corporation (CORFOGA).
Data provided by CONAPAM indicate that approximately 85,000 older adults are cared for in these 85 Centers located throughout the country, a vulnerable population that is benefiting from the donation of meat produced by thousands of Costa Rican ranchers.
The contribution is given within the framework of an agreement signed by the Livestock Corporation with the National Emergency Commission and CONAPAM establishing that; “The purpose of this agreement is the donation of meat products by the Livestock Corporation to be placed in centers for the elderly in coordination with CONAPAM.”
According to Luis Diego Obando, Executive Director of CORFOGA, from the sales corresponding to three months, 62 million colones is destined for the purchase of meat specifically for this program, through the National Council of the Production and its Inter-institutional Supply Program (PAI) that is in charge of distributing it in each center that cares for older adults previously identified.
CORFOGA will donate the 13 thousand kilos of beef and follow the nutritional recommendations provided by CONAPAM with the support of the doctor in Nutrition Karina Sánchez from FECRUNAPA. The donation is ground beef low in fat and diced beef jerky.
The President of the Board of Directors of CORFOGA Miguel Mena, highlighted the interest of the Livestock Corporation in helping feed needy elderly people with this donation of beef, a food of high nutritional value, in times of difficulty like the current one due to the Pandemic.
For her part, the President of the Governing Board of CONAPAM, Teresita Aguilar Mirambell, stressed the importance of the donation, from the Livestock Corporation, because during this health crisis, the organizations that serve the older adult population greatly benefit from CONAPAM programs.
CONAPAM has been limited in the activities that they can carry out to manage because of their own limited resources, so they always welcome more support and, contributions that make it possible to provide a adequate food balance for this population.
In addition, Dr. Aguilar, expressed: “On behalf of CONAPAM, we extend a deep appreciation to CORFOGA, for the support they provide to older adults who are served in the various CONAPAM programs. This donation from the Livestock Corporation is evidence of solidarity towards those who need it most, in the midst of the complex situation we face as a country; because it will allow a significant number of older adults to receive a food of great nutritional importance, and at the same time alleviate a little the pressure that non-profit social organizations have, which with so much mystique is put on serving older adults in vulnerable conditions”.
For her part, the Vice Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, Ana Cristina Quirós Soto, applauded the action of CORFOGA and highlighted the way in which the livestock sector has faced the COVID-19 crisis. “Our livestock sector has responded in an exemplary way working day by day, with protocols at all levels to avoid contagion, ensuring quality food, decent jobs and access to social security in a timely manner,” she said.
