REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, LISBON -- Portugal's Food Bank Against Hunger, a charitable organization, kicked off its yearly campaign Saturday at supermarkets across the country to call for more food donations to the poor.

The president of the group Isabel Jonet called on the Portuguese population to contribute to their campaign to collect food for the poor on the internet.

"As well as the possibility for people to go to the supermarket and contribute physically, they can also donate online," Jonet told Portuguese Lusa news agency on the first of two days of a campaign, which aims to collect food in supermarkets across the country with the help of over 40,000 volunteers for at least 420,000 people in need.

The campaign is taking place in around 2,000 supermarkets under the slogan "We can all make this day special."

According to official figures, the Food Bank Against Hunger collected around 26 million kg of food in 2016. But the group hopes it can collect more this year.

High unemployment, poverty and inequality remain key concerns in Portugal, a country had to sign a 78 billion-euro bailout in 2011 when it was on the verge of bankruptcy. The bailout has led to harsh spending cuts and tax hikes.

In 2016, around 2.6 million Portuguese were at risk of poverty, according to the Portuguese National Institute of Statistics. 

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