Gran Recapte 2026: Catalonia's food bank drive on Friday 13 and Saturday 14 November, where to give and how to volunteer

The Gran Recapte 2026 is on Friday 13 and Saturday 14 November. On those two days, participating supermarkets across Catalonia have collection points where you can leave food for the region's four food banks (Bancs dels Aliments). It is the 18th edition and, for the first time, it is dedicated to the "new poverty": people who cannot make ends meet even with a job or a pension. You can also help by volunteering for a four-hour shift or by giving money, for example by Bizum with code 33596.

En català · En castellano · In English

When is the Gran Recapte 2026?

On Friday 13 and Saturday 14 November 2026. On both days, participating supermarkets have food collection points staffed by volunteers who explain the campaign and take what you give. The Gran Recapte website gives no collection hours common to every shop; volunteer shifts last four hours.

It runs at the same time all over Catalonia, with more than 2,000 collection points according to the organisers. Money donations, on the other hand, do not have to be made on those two days: according to the Catalan association of food banks, you can give online during the campaign and until mid-December.

Where to give: participating supermarkets and markets

In supermarkets that take part in the Gran Recapte. On their food donation page (in Catalan and Spanish), the organisers show these chains: Alcampo, Aldi, Ametller Origen, bonÀrea, Bonpreu/Esclat, Cal Fruitós, Caprabo, Carrefour, Charter, Condis, Covalco, Eurospar, Facsa, Gros Mercat, Jodofi, La Sirena, Llobet, Makro, Montserrat Supermercats, Novavenda, Plusfresc, Proxim, Roges Supermercats, Sorli, Spar, Suma, Superestalvi, Supermas, Superservis, Valvi and Veritas. The same page links a list of shops by town (PDF), covering towns in the province of Barcelona; for the Girona, Lleida and Tarragona areas, check the Girona, Lleida or Tarragona food bank.

Mercadona, El Corte Inglés and Consum take part too, but differently: according to the Gran Recapte website, in these supermarkets you can only give money at the till, not food.

Barcelona's municipal markets. In the city of Barcelona, on Friday 13 and Saturday 14 November you can also give money at the signposted point in six markets: Sants, Santa Caterina, Barceloneta, Ninot, Sarrià and Clot. According to the organisers, each neighbourhood's social organisations will use that money to buy fresh produce in the same markets and share it among the neighbours who need it most.

What food to give to the Gran Recapte

The Tarragona food bank (Banc dels Aliments de les Comarques de Tarragona) sums it up on its Gran Recapte page: "Necessitem llegums secs, oli, llet, llaunes de conserva de peix i aliments infantils" (we need dried pulses, oil, milk, tinned fish and baby food). These are, it says, highly nutritious foods that are basic to people's diet.

Last year, the money collected bought food such as oil, milk and tinned food, as well as fish, meat and eggs, according to the Girona food bank. And the Gran Recapte website points out that, with money donations, the food banks buy food at lower prices.

How to volunteer for the Gran Recapte 2026

Sign up from the Gran Recapte volunteering page (in Catalan and Spanish) or in the Gran Recapte app (iOS and Android). There are three ways to take part:

• Volunteer: a four-hour shift at a collection point, as part of a team. You tell shoppers about the campaign, help take in donations and sort the food. Sign up at voluntariat.granrecapte.org.
• Coordinator: you coordinate one or more collection points over both days, following the sign-ups, supporting the volunteer team and handling the materials.
• As a group: with friends, family or colleagues. Any group of two or more people can cover a four-hour shift in a supermarket.

If you signed up in previous years, just download the app and log in with your DNI (Spanish ID number). The organisers have not published a closing date: on 4 November 2026 sign-up was open. The Tarragona food bank also runs its own sign-up form, and in Lleida, students at the University of Lleida (UdL) can earn ECTS credits by volunteering for the Gran Recapte.

If you have signed up but cannot make it after all, the organisers ask you to cancel your booking and tell the coordinator of your collection point, so that someone else can take the place.

How to give money to the Gran Recapte

The Gran Recapte donation page lists these options:

• Online, with the donation form: card, PayPal, Bizum or direct debit.
• By Bizum (the Spanish mobile payment service), in the "Hacer una donación" or "Aportar a causas sociales" section of your banking app, with the Gran Recapte code: 33596. Put your postcode in the concept field. The Girona food bank also publishes its own code, 00929.
• By phone, on 900 898 076.
• By bank transfer, to the account shown on the donation page. Copy it from the official website, never from a message or a social media post.
• In the online "supermercat solidari" (charity supermarket), linked from the same donation page.
• At the till in Mercadona, El Corte Inglés and Consum on Friday 13 and Saturday 14 November, and at the six participating Barcelona municipal markets.

Tax relief. According to the Gran Recapte website, individuals paying Spanish income tax can deduct 80% of the first €250 donated and 40% of the rest (45% for those who have given the same amount or more for three years), up to 10% of the taxable base. The tax certificate is requested on the same website.

What is the Gran Recapte and who runs it

It is Catalonia's big yearly food collection, run since 2009 by the region's four food banks (Barcelona, Girona, Lleida and Tarragona) with volunteers, social organisations, retail chains and companies. According to the Gran Recapte 2026 website, what it collects covers the basic needs of more than 170,000 people for two months, through a network of 569 social organisations across Catalonia.

This year's theme is the new poverty: older people living alone on small pensions, people in work who cannot make ends meet, families with children, a squeezed middle class and young people who cannot afford to leave home. According to the organisers, food and soft drinks became about 32% more expensive between 2020 and 2025.

The year's next big charity event is La Marató, TV3's telethon, in December.

Gran Recapte 2025 results

According to the Gran Recapte transparency page, checked on 4 November 2026, the 2025 edition raised the equivalent of more than €5.2 million in food and money donations, with 17,500 volunteers. The organisers will publish the 2026 results after the campaign; we will add them here.

Data on this page last verified: 4 November 2026.

Keep reading

• La Marató 2026: TV3 telethon on 13 December
• La Boqueria and Barcelona's markets
• Shops open on Sundays and holidays
• Christmas lights switch-on 2026: Barcelona and 25 towns