17-03-2026 | di COOPI

Milan. Municipality 7 strengthens support for vulnerable families through COOPI

On Thursday, 5 March, Municipality 7 of Milan granted COOPI – Cooperazione Internazionale a contribution of €17,000 in COOP shopping vouchers, aimed at strengthening the organisation’s food aid activities in the Milan area. This represents a concrete act of solidarity to support the city’s most vulnerable people.

The vouchers will be used to supply food parcels distributed to families in need, as part of the project “Combating Poverty in Italy”, which COOPI implements in Milan's Municipio 7.

During the handover of the contribution, COOPI President Claudio Ceravolo stated:

On behalf of COOPI – Cooperazione Internazionale, I would like to thank Municipality 7 of the City of Milan for supporting the ‘Fighting Poverty’ project. Your gesture demonstrates valuable sensitivity and attention toward the most vulnerable people. This contribution represents concrete support to strengthen our capacity to respond to the needs of individuals and families who, even in our city, are experiencing hardship. The vouchers will be used to replenish the food parcels distributed by COOPI to citizens who access our food support services.

The contribution is part of an established collaboration between COOPI and Municipality 7, in which the organisation coordinates the Food Roundtable and manages the Selinunte Food Distribution Hub of Municipality 7, as part of the City of Milan’s Food Policy.

We have allocated €17,000 in shopping vouchers to COOPI – Cooperazione Internazionale, a step to ensure that no one in our city feels alone when facing the difficulty of putting food on the table. Those vouchers will become food parcels, concrete support, and relief for many families going through a fragile moment,

explained the President of Municipality 7, Silvia Fossati.

“Thanks to COOPI for the daily work carried out alongside the most vulnerable. As a Municipality, we will continue to work with the QuBì Network so that Milan remains a city capable of caring, including, and leaving no one behind.

A growing need

According to the latest ISTAT report, in 2024, 23% of the population in Italy is at risk of poverty or social exclusion, an increase compared to the previous year. Even in large cities, the phenomenon is becoming increasingly widespread: in Milan, the number of families struggling to meet their daily expenses is rising, to the extent that since 2020 the number of people seeking food aid in the city has almost tripled. 

In this context, the 'Fighting Poverty' project represents a concrete response to emerging needs. Launched in 1999 at the initiative of Father Vincenzo Barbieri, founder of COOPI, the project has grown over time and now reaches over 2,000 beneficiaries every month, including families, elderly people living alone, and children.

Support is provided not only through the distribution of food packages. In Piazzale Selinunte, COOPI also focuses on listening and referring people to associations within the QuBì network that deal with job and social reintegration, parenting support, and legal assistance.

A collaboration that strengthens the community

The support from Municipality 7 therefore represents not only concrete help for food distribution activities, but also recognition of the work carried out by COOPI in the area and of the importance of collaboration between public institutions and civil society organisations.

In a context where social vulnerability continues to affect many urban realities – concluded President Ceravolo during the handover of the donation – collaboration between local institutions and civil society organizations is essential to ensure effective and timely responses.