ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY The Portuguese Food Banks

The elimination of poverty and the fight against social exclusion became one of the main challenges of the development and human rights since the end of 20th century and continues in the 21st. In the last decades we have observed how development has brought new social events to the world, introducing new realities in modern societies and giving them very peculiar characteristics, typical of the days we are living on. The increase of internationalization and globalization of several economies, the world markets and great regional markets trends, the evolutions in the employment market and the very recent migratory flows have brought to the world new social events, each time more complex and more demanding, concerning the appeal they set up to international community action. Finding new answers, which are also dependent on the efficacy of new approaches, becomes a very urgent matter, and promotion of social inclusion and reducing social asymmetries depends not only on the State and government agencies, but also on civil society initiatives. The Portuguese Food Banks are important organizations with relevant contribution to a more social and environmental economy, developing a very effective action in a pro-sustainable way, linking the constant increase of social responsibility of economic agents to public commitment and to the promotion of human solidarity. Simultaneously they are contributing to the reduction of waste of food and level of garbage. The aim of this paper is to analyse social and economic impacts of these organizations all over the country.