To carry out this action, the municipality, led by Helena Teodósio, "channelled almost all the money planned to be spent on festive entertainment " over the Christmas season.

"Due to the distance rules imposed to deal with the covid-19 pandemic", the Christmas programme in Cantanhede "had to be strongly limited to some specific initiatives, most of them with visibility on digital platforms".

The process of delivering the hampers "is being operated by the Division of Social Action and Health" of the council, with the support of the parish councils, which helped to "identify people in situations of vulnerability who are beneficiaries of the offers, as well as in the distribution of these baskets".

"The City Council pays for about 300 baskets, transferring to the parish councils the amount necessary for their acquisition, which amount, according to what was agreed between Helena Teodósio and the mayors, will have to be spent on traditional commerce", according to the note sent to Lusa News Agency.

Helena Teodósio stresses the importance of "mitigating the economic and social effects of the covid-19 pandemic, on the one hand, by helping particularly affected families to have a little better time this season, on the other, by passing on expenses with the purchase of goods in revenue for small local businesses”.

The municipality of Cantanhede had previously acquired, also from local companies, more than 250 Christmas baskets, " to deliver to families that have been supported in the context of actions triggered to help those who saw their economic situation especially aggravated" with the pandemic.

“The local authority is doing everything in order for the families in need to not lack what we consider mandatory for Christmas dinner. The adversity with which we are faced does not allow us to have the Christmas we would like, but also for that reason we must strive to make the values ??associated with it prevail”, she concludes.

Also within the scope of the Christmas campaign, the Council offers "a symbolic gift, a blanket, to all the elderly" of the municipality.