Banco delle Opere di Carità

What Banco delle Opere di Carità does

Banco delle Opere di Carità is an Italian non-profit foundation (Fondazione), established in 1993 and headquartered in Caserta, that operates as one of the largest charitable food-bank networks in Italy. Its mission is to recover food products that would otherwise be discarded despite retaining their nutritional value, and redistribute them to people experiencing economic hardship. The foundation operates three interconnected core services — RECUPERA (food recovery), VALORIZZA (food valorization/preservation), and DONA (distribution to those in need) — through a nationwide network of 16 regional branches covering essentially all Italian regions and supported by over 16,000 sqm of warehouse space including refrigerated cells. The foundation sources food from agriculture, industry, large-scale retail, organized catering, the Italian Ministry of Agricultural, Food Sovereignty and Forestry, the EU FEAD (Fondo di aiuti europei agli indigenti) program, and over 60 corporate donors including AIA, Barilla, Coca-Cola, Nestle, Parmalat, and Galbani.

The foundation serves as a coordinating body between institutions, charitable entities (enti convenzionati) assisting people in need, and donating companies. Affiliated entities — ecclesiastical bodies, public institutions, third-sector organizations, and cooperatives — collect food daily from Banco delle Opere di Carità locations free of charge and redistribute it to beneficiaries, reaching an estimated 153,869 families daily. The organization annually stages the Giornata della Raccolta Alimentare (National Food Collection Day), deploying roughly 50,000 volunteers across 10,000+ supermarkets to collect donations from shoppers, generating food throughput in excess of 1,500 tonnes in a single event. Civil service program Servizio Civile Universale (accredited as SU00446) funds 84 positions, and the foundation maintains a sizeable volunteer network exceeding 15,000 individuals nationwide.

The business model is charitable and non-commercial: food and cash are donated in, food is distributed free of charge to affiliated entities for onward free distribution, and all activities are funded through a mix of corporate food donations, individual contributions, government and EU program funding (notably FEAD), and civil service grants. Pricing is non-existent — there is no charge to beneficiaries or affiliated entities. Operations are coordinated via a relatively lightweight technology layer consisting of a public website (bancodelleoperedicarita.org), active social channels (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, WhatsApp), and dedicated partner-facing web portals for entity registration and food-pickup scheduling (enti.gest.bancodelleoperedicarita.org, iscrizione.bancodelleoperedicarita.org). No public APIs, proprietary software products, or technology-based revenue streams exist. Leadership is led by President Tamburro, with regional contacts including Sara Mascarin (Veneto) and Elisabetta Santoro (Calabria) coordinating field operations.

Name

Banco delle Opere di Carità

Legal name

Fondazione Banco delle Opere di Carità

Website

https://bancodelleoperedicarita.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Banco delle Opere di Carità is an Italian non-profit foundation (since 1993, Caserta) operating sixteen regional branches to recover surplus food from over 60 corporate and government donors and redistribute it free of charge, via affiliated charitable entities, to approximately 153,869 families in need daily.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Food Bank / Charitable Food Distribution Services

NAICS

Community Food Services (624210), Community Food and Housing, and Emergency and Other Relief Services (6242)

akta.pro primary industry

Food Assistance & Food Banks (BPAGAEAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Food Assistance & Safety Nets (In-Kind, Vouchers, Cash Transfers) (BPADAJAA)

Keywords

• Food recovery services
• Food bank distribution
• Anti-food waste programs
• Charitable food redistribution
• Social inclusion support

Headquarters

HQ city

Caserta

HQ country

Italy

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Charitable Donations: As a charitable foundation, the organization operates primarily through donations of food products from companies and financial contributions from individuals, government programs, and EU funds. Products are redistributed free of charge to people in need through affiliated entities.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Banco delle Opere di Carità is a charitable foundation (Fondazione) that operates a national food bank network across Italy, recovering edible food products that would otherwise be discarded and redistributing them free of charge to people in need. The foundation coordinates food collection from agriculture, industry, large-scale retail, organized catering, the Italian Ministry of Agriculture, and the EU FEAD program, channeling supplies through a network of affiliated entities (enti convenzionati) including churches, public institutions, and cooperatives. Its three core service lines are RECUPERA (food recovery), VALORIZZA (food valorization preserving nutritional quality), and DONA (free food donation to people in need).

Product overview

Banco delle Opere di Carità is a charitable foundation (Fondazione) established in 1993 that operates as a food bank network across Italy. The organization offers three core interconnected services: RECUPERA (food recovery from potential waste), VALORIZZA (food valorization and preservation), and DONA (food donation to those in need). The foundation coordinates a network of 16 regional offices nationwide, collecting food products from agriculture, industry, large-scale retail, organized catering, the Ministry of Agriculture, and the European Union's FEAD program. Additional offerings include the annual Giornata della Raccolta Alimentare (national food collection day), web portals for partner organization management and registration, and civil service programs. The organization connects institutional partners, charitable entities assisting people in need, and donating companies in a collaborative network.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• RECUPERA (Food Recovery) Food recovery service that retrieves food products that would otherwise be discarded despite maintaining nutritional quality, redirecting them to people in need via affiliated entities. Operational since 1993.
• VALORIZZA (Food Valorization) Food valorization service that transforms recovered food into valuable resources while preserving nutritional qualities, making them available to beneficiaries through the foundation's distribution network.
• DONA (Food Donation) Food donation service that distributes food products free of charge to people in need via the foundation's network of affiliated entities, improving beneficiary quality of life.
• Giornata della Raccolta Alimentare contro la Fame in Italia Annual national food collection day event mobilizing tens of thousands of volunteers at supermarkets nationwide to collect food donations for distribution to people in difficulty.
• Servizio Civile Universale Program Accredited civil service program (code SU00446) offering digital service projects for young volunteers aged 18-28, with monthly stipend of €433.80 for 12-month engagements at the foundation.

Quantifiable outcome

• 153,869 families assisted daily
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• AGEA (Agenzia per le Erogazioni in Agricoltura)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment agricultural agency providing food products through national distribution plans for food assistance programs
• Ministero dell'Agricoltura della Sovranità Alimentare e delle ForestecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMinistry of Agriculture providing food products through national distribution plans and supporting anti-food waste initiatives
• European Union (FEAD - Fondo di aiuti europei agli indigenti)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEU fund providing financial support for food assistance to the disadvantaged through the PO I FEAD program, with the foundation acting as Territorial Partner Organization (OpT)
• Ministero del LavorocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMinistry of Labor providing support for social assistance programs and civil service initiatives
• Regione Calabria - Dipartimento AgricolturamajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional agriculture department providing economic contributions for purchasing food from local producers to support families in economic difficulty in Calabria
• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day SaintsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerParticipated in the National Food Collection Day, contributing volunteers and support for food assistance activities
• Croce Rossa Italiana (Italian Red Cross)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThird sector organization that collaborates with Banco delle Opere di Carità to assist people in difficulty
• European Competence Centre for Social InnovationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean organization hosting events where Banco delle Opere di Carità shares its experience in material support and social assistance
• Food Donor Companies (AIA, Barilla, Coca-Cola, Nestle, Parmalat, Galbani, and 60+ others)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOver 60 food companies donate products to the foundation, including major brands in agriculture, industry, and large-scale distribution
• Supermarket Chains (10,000+ participating)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOver 10,000 supermarkets participate in National Food Collection Days, hosting volunteers and collecting food donations from customers

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Regional players

• Pane Quotidiano Onlus: Milan-based charitable foundation distributing food to people in need since 1898, comparable in mission and volunteer-driven distribution model but operating primarily in Lombardy rather than nationally.

Broad incumbents

• Feeding America: Largest U.S. hunger-relief organization, operating a national food bank network model analogous to Banco delle Opere di Carità's Italian regional structure, with similar donor-, volunteer-, and corporate-partnership model.
• European Food Banks Federation (FEBA): Umbrella organization of European food banks, including Banco Alimentare; comparable as the institutional/network layer above national food-bank operators, with shared EU-level funding and policy engagement.

Emerging players

• Too Good To Go: Commercial marketplace app that connects retailers and restaurants with consumers to rescue surplus food; comparable as a food-waste-reduction channel competing for the same corporate-donor surplus that flows into traditional food banks.
• FoodCloud: Tech-enabled food rescue platform connecting retailers with charities to redistribute surplus food; comparable in the food-recovery mission but uses software-led matching rather than warehouse-based redistribution.
• Last Minute Market: Italian spin-off focused on recovering and valorizing agricultural and food-industry surpluses; comparable as a food-waste valorization specialist operating alongside larger charitable redistributors in Italy.

Direct peers

• Fondazione Banco Alimentare Onlus: Italy's largest food bank network and the closest direct competitor to Banco delle Opere di Carità, operating a national model of food recovery from industry and retail and redistribution to charitable organizations across Italy.
• Caritas Italiana: Italian Catholic charity providing food assistance, social services, and inclusion pathways through a diocesan network. Comparable as a direct food-assistance operator pursuing social-inclusion outcomes alongside food distribution.
• Croce Rossa Italiana (Italian Red Cross): Humanitarian organization that distributes food and essential goods to vulnerable populations across Italy, with overlap in target beneficiaries, affiliated-entity model, and reliance on volunteer mobilization.
• Fondazione Banco Alimentare Roma Onlus: Rome-based member of the Banco Alimentare network performing food collection and redistribution to affiliated charities in Lazio/Central Italy; directly comparable operating model and beneficiary type, operating as a sister entity in the same national food-bank ecosystem.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/boperedicarita
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCqjaG6S31J1trVyKX69PIPA
• Facebookfacebook.com/bancodelleoperedicarita.official
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/banco-delle-opere-di-carit%C3%A0
• Instagraminstagram.com/boperedicarita

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Banco delle Opere di Carità