Lanzarote farmers, integrated in the El Arado de Tinajo Association and owners of the La Vegueta fruit shop, located in the Vega neighborhood in Arrecife, have undertaken a solidarity initiative aimed at delivering, free of charge, boxes of fresh vegetables, grown in the Lanzarote countryside, to soup kitchens in Arrecife. Thus, during the last two weeks, the farmers have loaded boxes of lettuce, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, onions, cauliflowers, zucchini and cabbages, among other vegetables, into their vans and delivered them to the NGO Calor y Café.
The initiative has been highly valued by the Councilor for Social Services of the Arrecife City Council, Emilia Perdomo, who stated that "this magnificent gesture of solidarity, in the time of crisis we are going through, demonstrates the human quality of our people." Perdomo also encourages other associations of farmers and other fruit shops to follow the example of the members of the El Arado Association.
According to Esteban Nieto, one of the owners of the La Vegueta fruit shop, "at the moment, we are producing a lot of merchandise that, although its appearance is not perfect to place it on the market, is fresh and very good." In this way, all these vegetables that come directly from the fields in crops of Tinajo, Haría or Tegoyo can be used by those most in need. Although the first soup kitchen benefited by this initiative has been that of Calor y Café, which is attended by around 70 people daily, Esteban Nieto has confirmed that "in the next deliveries of vegetables, the Cáritas soup kitchen or others on the island will also be included".
Finally, the farmers hope that, within a couple of weeks, along with the vegetables, they will also be able to deliver good examples of watermelons from the land.
