The Maltese connection

SPAR Hungary has been working with the Hungarian Maltese Charity Service for many years to help hundreds of thousands people in need every year. One of their biggest joint projects is the food collection campaign ‘It is a joy to give!’, organised every year before Christmas since 1997. Last year 2,000 volunteers persuaded nearly 100,000 customers to donate groceries for charity in 168 SPAR and INTERSPAR stores. This year a record quantity of 261.5 tons of food was collected, which the Hungarian Maltese Charity Service distributed among poor families and other people in need all over Hungary. ‘It is a joy to give!’ is special because people can donate in SPAR stores quickly and easily. Since the start of the campaign shoppers gave nearly 2 million kilograms of groceries to charity. Back in 2010 the Hungarian Maltese Charity Service introduced its HUF 200 and 500 donation cards, which have been available in SPAR stores’ cash register zones ever since – those who buy them support a different good cause year after year. In 2014 HUF 10.5 million was collected for the charity service this way. What is more, in 2014 SPAR Hungary gave HUF 7.8 million to the Hungarian Maltese Charity Service from selling the retail chain’s eco-friendly shopping bags.(x)