EROSKI is once again taking part in the Gran Recogida, the charity campaign run by the Federación Española de Bancos de Alimentos (FESBAL), the Spanish federation of food banks, and its member food banks. The campaign will run from Friday 13 to Sunday 15 November to support the work these organisations do for people and families in vulnerable situations.

Throughout the three days, customers can donate any amount they wish at the checkout. The donation will appear on the till receipt and will go to the food banks so they can buy the basic products they need at any given time.

Certain EROSKI stores will also host in-person collection of non-perishable food on 13 and 14 November, with volunteers from the food banks and support from store teams. The option available will be clearly signposted in each store.

Donating money allows the food banks to match their purchases to the needs of the people they support, and makes storage and distribution easier.

Alejandro Martínez Berriochoa, Director of Health and Sustainability at EROSKI, said: “Once again, we want to make it easy for our customers to take part in the Gran Recogida and support the essential work of the food banks. Collaboration between consumers, volunteers, store teams and charities shows what cooperation can achieve: a concrete response for the families who need it most.”

Pedro Llorca, President of FESBAL, said: “From FESBAL and its 53 member food banks, we sincerely thank EROSKI and its customers for their involvement in an initiative as necessary as the Gran Recogida. Our aim is to keep providing, at all times, the food that the families we support need. Partnerships like this are essential to sustain our work and keep alive the chain of solidarity that unites society as a whole.”

30 years of collaboration with the food banks

EROSKI’s relationship with the food banks dates back to 1996. It began at the suggestion of the Banco de Alimentos de Bizkaia, the Bizkaia food bank, and of consumers themselves, who were asking the cooperative for charitable action to help disadvantaged groups and people at risk of social exclusion. The first food collection campaigns began in EROSKI stores that same year.

Over these three decades, the collaboration has grown through various initiatives to make it easier to redistribute food and to support charities. In 2025, the campaigns run by EROSKI Group together with the food banks led to the donation of 1,504 tonnes of food, equivalent to six million meals.

EROSKI has been awarded the Espiga de Oro (Golden Ear of Wheat) Award, the highest honour FESBAL gives to organisations that stand out for their collaboration with food banks and their contribution to the solidarity-based redistribution of food.

Solidarity and making the most of food

Taking part in the Gran Recogida is part of EROSKI’s commitment to solidarity and to preventing food waste. In the first half of 2026, EROSKI Group prevented the waste of more than 14,000 tonnes of food. Of that total, 12,141 tonnes were products for human consumption, equivalent to 48 million meals, and the Group donated 378 tonnes to charities.

This result comes from a strategy that combines selling products at special discounts, donating to charities, working with food-recovery platforms and improving how stores manage their processes.

These initiatives are part of the Desperdicio Cero (Zero Waste) programme, a model built on preventing and reducing food losses. As part of it, EROSKI works with close to a hundred charities to channel food that is fit to eat to the groups that need it.