Barcelona City Council and social organisations have added three community food sites to the Alimenta programme, including the MACBA Bar in Plaça dels Àngels, El Raval. The expansion takes the programme beyond 170 places, extending food provision, social support and employment guidance to more neighbourhoods for people in vulnerable situations.

The restaurant at the Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona, known as MACBA, will operate in the scheme as Alimenta Raval. It is managed by the Impulsem SCCL cooperative.

Alimenta was launched by the Ajuntament de Barcelona, Barcelona City Council, in July 2021 with social-sector organisations. The programme combines meals with participation in community kitchens, food-reuse workshops and individual social support.

Three sites join four existing Alimenta centres

The three new centres are:

  • Alimenta Raval, at MACBA Bar, managed by Impulsem SCCL.
  • Alimenta Sants-Badal, developed with the Fundació Canpedró.
  • Alimenta Eixample Esquerra, run with the Fundació Ciutadania Multicultural, Mescladís.

The four existing centres served the Carmel and Teixonera, Gòtic, Guineueta, and Besòs-Maresme areas. According to El Periódico’s report on the presentation, all seven sites share goals of food security, social integration and support, and access to employment.

Meals are paired with social and employment support

At Alimenta sites, users choose from daily meal options in a setting intended to operate like an ordinary restaurant, according to the Ajuntament’s description of its Nou Barris service. Social professionals provide individual support plans and can refer users to employment-reintegration programmes.

“Alimenta goes beyond meeting the need for food; the traditional model of a strictly social dining room has been transformed,” municipal Social Action Commissioner Sònia Fuertes said at the presentation.

The City Council says the programme seeks to provide healthy, sustainable food while supporting people’s autonomy and community inclusion. Its original 2021 plan envisaged four Alimenta spaces serving around 100 users, with community kitchens and training workshops as part of the service.

In Nou Barris, the existing Alimenta point at the restaurant in the Parc Tecnològic receives people referred by the district’s social services. Residents seeking access there can consult the Nou Barris district information page.

Primary sources: Ramon, Ramon, ajuntament.barcelona.cat, Barcelona City Council, Ramon, Ajuntament de Barcelona. Reported by Source Text Link, Alma Rodelgo Llasat, europapress.es, beteve.cat, social.cat, lavanguardia.com, ALERTA, Eduard, El Periódico Barcelona.