• Sales of the recipe book Tradiciones Compartidas (Shared Traditions), produced by FIFCO, were transformed into food donations for 2,900 people at social risk and a cooking workshop with organizations that serve them.
  
  

The recipes for Tía Florita’s pastel de plátano maduro con frijoles (ripe plantain and beans pie), Ricky Bartley’s rice and beans and Sophia Rodríguez’s pan de ayote (squash bread) allowed FIFCO and the Costa Rican Food Bank to bring food to 2,900 vulnerable and poor people throughout the country.

These dishes are part of the Costa Rican food recipe book Tradiciones Compartidas, produced by the food and beverage company, all sales of which went to support the Bank’s work. The donation materialized in the second quarter of 2024, in the form of hot food rations.

The food benefited 688 indigenous people, 643 elderly people and 439 families, among other groups, including children, refugees, women and street people.

The aid was distributed through 19 non-governmental organizations that serve populations at social risk in cantons of the seven provinces: the capital, Aserrí, Acosta and Pérez Zeledón in San José; San Rafael in Heredia; San Carlos in Alajuela; Turrialba in Cartago; Garabito and Quepos in Puntarenas; Siquirres and Matina in Limón; and Cañas and Nicoya in Guanacaste.

The donation also allowed for a cooking workshop with representatives from several of these organizations. During the activity, chef Sara Villavicencio, from the National Chefs Association, guided the preparation of a ripe plantain and beans pie using the recipe of renowned chef Tía Florita. The snack was enjoyed by a group of patients recovering and preparing for organ transplant surgeries at Giamala Foundation’s Casa Camila in San José.

In addition, nutritionist Valery Vargas, FIFCO’s Nutrition and Smart Consumption advisor, shared knowledge and recommendations to enrich the nutritional care of the beneficiaries.

“The book Tradiciones Compartidas not only rescues the valuable Costa Rican culinary heritage, but also offers a unique perspective to support organizations dedicated to feeding vulnerable populations. This project embodies the spirit of Expansive Sustainability, a philosophy promoted by FIFCO that identifies collaboration, creativity and solidarity as key factors to contribute to the solution of the most relevant challenges we face as a society,” said Maria Pia Robles, FIFCO’s Director of Corporate Relations.

“FIFCO’s support through the book Tradiciones Compartidas has allowed us to continue in the fight against hunger in Costa Rica, supporting various populations in social vulnerability and poverty and also teaching them to value the traditional food of each region, expanding their knowledge with recipes and good nutritional practices, for organizations like ours it is vital that more companies like FIFCO join our cause”, sustained Francia Linares, executive director of the Food Bank of Costa Rica.

A second workshop will soon be held at the Cañas headquarters of the Food Bank of Costa Rica, aimed at organizations in the Northern Zone and Guanacaste.