The government of the Pskov Region and the charitable foundation FoodBank Rus signed an Agreement of Cooperation on January 12, 2021. The document was signed by Mikhail Yurievich Vedernikov, the Governor of the Pskov Region, and the Chairman of the Board of Directors of FoodBank Rus, His Imperial Highness, the Heir, Tsesarevich, and Grand Duke George of Russia.

The partnership between Regional authorities and the foundation’s professionals and volunteers will, as a result of this agreement, now expand and grow. In the future, new co-sponsored programmes and events can be organized to support the needy and to increase local volunteerism. With this agreement, the Pskov Region joins a growing national food sharing network.

Governor Vedernikov expressed his gratitude to the administrators and management of FoodBank Rus for its collaboration with the Regional government over the past six months. The Regional branch of FoodBank Rus opened in Pskov in September 2020. The Governor noted that the signing of this Agreement on Cooperation represents a formalization and continuation of an ongoing collaboration. “Working together, we have already provided support to more than seven thousand residents of the Region. We have also discussed how it would be good for the foundation to have branch offices in every District in the Region, which would increase the number of people we could help and our ability to deliver that help more quickly and effectively,” the Governor said.

Grand Duke George of Russia, in turn, thanked the leaders of the Pskov Region for their support for the key activities of the foundation: opening new branch offices and providing help to more and more of the needy. “Despite the coronavirus, we are accomplishing a great deal here,” said His Imperial Highness. “I thank the entire staff of the Regional branch of the foundation for their hard work.”

FoodBank Rus has at present begun operating in six municipalities in the Pskov Region, according to Yulia Davidovna Nazarova, President of FoodBank Rus. She added that the goal for this year is to increase the volume of food available for distribution and to maximize accessibility.

FoodBank Rus is the first “food bank” in Russia, and provides food assistance to vulnerable segments of the population from all across Russia: multi-child families, low-income families with small children, and the retired. Regional branches of the foundation have been opened in ten Regions across Russia. The foundation coordinates with some of the largest Russian manufacturers of consumer good, retail chain stores, and other food distributors that donate their products to FoodBank Rus on an ongoing basis. Donations include surplus products, and all donations meet current legal regulations for quality and freshness.

The distribution of food in the Pskov Region operates through Regional and municipal volunteer centers, social services centers, professional and trade union offices, and the White Flower Society of the Church of St. Basil the Great na Gorka in Pskov. Since beginning operations in the Pskov Region in September 2020, the FoodBank Rus foundation has already distributed some 40 tons of food.