RomAmoR: the Roman association that distributes 800 meals a day

Thanks to the work of 300 volunteers, food regularly reaches the homeless and the needy at the Tuscolana, Ostiense and San Pietro stations.

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romarmor

Elio Mattei, president of the RomAmoR association , has not had an easy task since he took over from Dino Impagliazzo, who passed away in 2021, known in Rome as the “chef of the poor” , one of the most popular figures in the fight against poverty in Rome.

Impagliazzo was originally from Sardinia (La Maddalena) and had worked as an INPS manager before retiring. His charitable work began with a very simple gesture: after meeting a homeless person at the Tuscolana station, he began bringing him food; from that initial help, a network of volunteers was born that would become RomAmoR.

Meals for the poor in Rome
Dino Impagliazzo, RomAmoR Association

In 2006, he founded the association (which took the name RomAmoR in 2015), organizing volunteers to prepare and distribute hot meals, clothing, and basic necessities to the homeless and those in need in Rome, particularly in the areas around train stations.

Today RomAmor is an extraordinary and powerful solidarity machine, distributing 800 hot meals every week, thanks to the tireless work of around 300 volunteers.

The association's activity works like this:

  • Meal preparationVolunteers meet at the operational headquarters to cook and prepare hot meals, sandwiches, and basic necessities kits.
  • Evening distribution: on specific days they reach some areas of the city, in particular the stations Tusculan, Ostiense and the area of San Pietro, where they distribute food, drinks, blankets, clothes and hygiene products to people living on the streets.
  • Listening and orientationIn addition to providing material assistance, volunteers strive to build relationships of trust with those they assist, helping them, where possible, to access documents, healthcare, and other social services.
Dino Impagliazzo
Dino Impagliazzo

The food distributed by RomAmoR ODV comes from multiple sources: there is not a single "supplier," but a network of recovery, donations (two channels that avoid food waste), and purchases necessary to complete the meals.

The main sources are:

  • Recovery of surplus food: volunteers of the association recover above all unsold fruit and vegetables from the local markets in the Appio–Tuscolano area (for example through activities to recover unsold goods each day).
  • Donations from private individuals and supporters: people who donate money or goods make it possible to purchase what is needed to prepare meals and support distribution.
  • Institutional food aid: RomAmoR It is also involved as a territorial partner organization in the European Programme for Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD), through the distribution of food aid to people in difficulty.
  • Direct purchases from the association: some ingredients and materials (such as containers, cutlery, bags and other goods needed for distribution) are purchased with the collected resources.

The kitchen is then managed by volunteers at the headquarters in Via Tuscolana 169 , where the products are transformed into hot meals and prepared for distribution in the association's intervention areas.

 

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