Nonna Roma Grand Food Drive

A day that spans the entire city

The Nonna Roma Grand Food Drive is not confined to a single square; it is a widespread mobilization that, for an entire day, involves dozens of supermarkets throughout the Municipality of Rome, in the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital, Lazio. At the entrance of participating stores, volunteers welcome shoppers, explain the initiative, and collect donations as they leave. It is a simple gesture—an extra pack of pasta in the shopping cart—multiplied by thousands of people.

The goal is concrete and clear: to support the over 10,000 people who turn to Nonna Roma every year for their right to food. The drive replenishes the association's solidarity pantries, food parcels, and social markets for the months ahead, when demand remains high and public supplies are often delayed.

Who is Nonna Roma

Founded on May 31, 2017, as a mutual aid food pantry within the Arci Sparwasser club, Nonna Roma is now one of the most deeply rooted mutual aid organizations in the Capital. The association works across five pillars: the right to food, housing, education, health, and social justice. It operates eight locations across the city and supports approximately 2,500 families through food parcels, social markets, and solidarity pantries.

The name evokes the image of a grandmother who ensures no one goes without dinner: a popular and affectionate concept that has made the association recognizable well beyond the neighborhoods where it began. Alongside the food drive, Nonna Roma carries out initiatives such as Matita Sospesa (school supply drive), the DE CORE festival, and the summer series Estate al Torrione.

How the collection works

On the day of the Grand Food Drive, volunteers staff participating stores, easily identified by the association's posters and vests. You can donate whatever you like by purchasing it during your regular shopping trip: a list of the most needed items is published by the association each year, focusing on non-perishable foods.

• Pasta and rice — the foundation of every food parcel
• Long-life milk and breakfast products
• Canned goods: legumes, peeled tomatoes, tuna, canned meat
• Biscuits and packaged baked goods
• Baby products and essential goods (hygiene, cleaning supplies)

No registration or booking is required: you participate simply by doing your grocery shopping at one of the involved supermarkets. Those who wish to help more directly can sign up as a volunteer by writing to the association: each edition requires hundreds of shifts, typically two or three hours each, spread throughout the day.

A geography of solidarity in the Capital

The strength of the initiative lies in its reach. Recent editions have involved stores in numerous Roman districts—including the I, II, III, V, XIII, XIV, and XV—crossing very diverse neighborhoods, from the historic center to the eastern and northern suburbs. Participating chains change from year to year and include well-known brands in Rome's urban fabric such as Conad, Todis, Tigre, Elide, Pewex, CTS, Pim, and MA.

This distribution is not accidental: it allows those living in more vulnerable areas to participate without traveling, while simultaneously making a topic—urban food poverty—that often remains invisible, visible throughout Rome. Requests for support to the association have grown sharply in recent years, with a 50% increase recorded during 2024.

Why participate

The Grand Food Drive is one of the most well-attended solidarity events in Rome and one of the easiest to join: it requires no time, dedicated money, or special skills. It is an opportunity to learn about a mutual aid network that works year-round, to meet volunteers, and to understand firsthand how the right to food functions in a metropolis. For those visiting the city that weekend, it also offers an authentic glimpse into the Rome of the neighborhoods—the one that organizes from the bottom up.