European Food Banks Federation - FEBA’s Post

🌍 Reflecting on yesterday's first day of the LRN Conference 2024 in Dublin: The Future of Food Rescue and the Role of Food Banks 🥗 Yesterday, I had the privilege of presenting at the LRN Conference 2024 in Dublin, where we (Helen Rogers, Prof. Dr. Bjoern Ivens and Alexander Brem) explored the evolving dynamics of food rescue efforts and their impact on the availability of food for Food Banks. My research delves into the increasing role of commercial food rescuers like Too Good to Go, AI-driven supermarket planning, discounting strategies, clearance sellers, and other social food rescue initiatives in shaping the flow of food donations to Food Banks. Key Takeaways: Food Banks have been facing rising demand over the past few years, with fewer food donations to meet this surge. There's a growing need for young volunteers to support the efforts of Food Banks. Food Banks must source food more broadly across the Food Value Chain, not relying solely on supermarkets for donations. The question remains whether laws like France's Loi Garot, which combats food waste, should be implemented across the DACH region. Could allowing practices like Dumpster Diving also make sense? A promising step forward is the introduction of the ECO Platform, which not only aids in route planning and optimization but also fosters better collaboration for the redistribution of surplus food, including large-scale donations from the food industry (e.g., excess production or B-grade goods). This conference highlighted the importance of innovation, legislation, and community engagement in shaping the future of food rescue. What are your thoughts on the next steps for supporting Food Banks and tackling food waste? Looking forward to the next few days of this wonderful conference! #foodrescue #foodbanks #foodwaste #sustainability #LRNconference #DACH #logisticsoptimization #AI #TooGoodToGo #futureoffood

Thank you to Fearghal O'Connor Irish Independent for covering our 2023 Annual Report today.  2023 marked FoodCloud’s 10th anniversary. In that time we have grown (from a one-store pilot in Talbot Street with Tesco Ireland) to operate across six markets, preventing 110,000 tonnes of food from being wasted and redistributing over 260 million meals by the end of last year. We would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of our dedicated partners for your ongoing support. Your generosity and commitment have been essential in enabling us to work towards our vision of a world where no good food goes to waste. While we are incredibly proud of all that has been achieved over the last 10 years, we know that our work is chipping at the tip of the iceberg. For example, the 3,723 tonnes of surplus redistributed by FoodCloud in Ireland in 2023 represents just 0.5% of the total food wasted. Looking to the future, we will continue to do more by:  - redistributing as much food as possible - by sharing our technology and promoting virtual food banking in Europe, Africa and Asia;  -innovating for a circular economy for food in Ireland, by unlocking the enormous potential of agricultural recovery to rescue nutritious surplus, support growers and rural communities; and growing our AIB Community Meals Programme; and  - using advocacy and activism for food loss and waste reduction -  through international, local voluntary, community and government engagement. ♻️🌎 #flw #SDG12 #sdg2 The Global FoodBanking Network European Food Banks Federation - FEBA Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine Department of Foreign Affairs, Ireland Iseult Ward Aoibheann O'Brien Article available here: https://bit.ly/3LJvKXx You can find the Annual Report on our website.

Surplus food redistribution – the latest figures Around 191,000 tonnes, equating to nearly 456 million meals of surplus food was received by redistribution organisations in the UK last year. As part of the food team at WRAP, we're publishing an interactive data web page sharing the results of our latest survey of redistribution organisations in the UK. Results show a continued increase in the amount of surplus food being redistributed, but there's still more to be done to find ways of accessing all the surplus food suitable for redistribution. Let’s make #CircularLiving the norm. See the full results: https://lnkd.in/eAJcWTgr #GuardiansOfGrub #SurplusFood #FoodWastePrevention

Today I attended the plenary meeting of the Advisory Group on Sustainable Food Systems of which European Food Banks Federation - FEBA is a member. Among the agenda items was an update on the state of play of EU Sustainable Public Procurement criteria, a topic under the umbrella of EU Health and Food Safety. Since one of the key points is food waste prevention, I used the opportunity to highlight the importance of facilitating food donation, i.e. of making nutritious surplus food available for people in need. By supporting Food Banks to recover and redistribute e.g. meals from schools and public canteens, the value of invested resources can be preserved and food insecurity actively reduced - a win-win approach.

ICYMI! 👀 In our October issue of the Food Policy Debrief we spotlighted Too Good To Go, a company that continues to lead the way in making food recovery accessible! They just led a major win for food waste awareness by helping push for the U.S. to officially recognize September 29th as the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste. 🗓️ As of October 1, a resolution has officially been introduced by Reps. Lawler, Pingree, Chavez-DeRemer, and Fitzpatrick to mark the occasion! 🎉 Congratulations to Zach Shaben for leading this effort! Why this matters? The U.S. Government now officially recognizes the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste! This is a HUGE step in meeting the goal to cut U.S. food loss and waste by 50% by 2030. 🌎 Let’s keep the excitement rolling and take action to make a lasting impact! 💪🥕 📩 Read the latest Food Policy Debrief for more standout food stories and updates: https://lnkd.in/eh3t6cqZ 👉 And never miss the latest updates and analysis by signing up for our newsletter: https://lnkd.in/eHgEuZPJ #FoodWaste #TooGoodToGo #Sustainability #FoodRecovery #Impact #IDAFLW #SocialImpact 

Around 191,000 tonnes, equating to nearly 456 million meals of surplus food was received by redistribution organisations in the UK last year.   As part of the food team at WRAP, we're publishing an interactive data webpage sharing the results of our latest survey of redistribution organisations in the UK.   Results show a continued increase in the amount of surplus food being redistributed, but there's still more to be done to find ways of accessing all the surplus food suitable for redistribution.   Letʼs make #CircularLiving the norm.   See the full results: https://lnkd.in/e9nx9UHu

Interesting piece from Eve Livingston on a new report from Nourish Scotland making the case for public diners as a way to tackle food and health inequality 👉 https://lnkd.in/e39ze8WA The report defines public diners as state-supported, affordable restaurants that serve healthy food to the public – "alongside buses, libraries, parks and museums, they are part of public infrastructure." You can read it in full here 👉 https://lnkd.in/e-UHctx5 Improving health and sustainability standards in the public sector is already backed by citizens, farmers, businesses and campaign groups as an effective policy solution to get healthy, sustainable food to those who need it most, while also supporting British farmers. More on that here 👉 https://lnkd.in/eEdnBJdT The new government has committed to 50% of all public sector food to be sourced locally and sustainably, a manifesto pledge welcomed by many food and farming organisations. But with public finances stretched – is the jump from public procurement to public diner a leap too far?

Current demand for food is even higher now than during the pandemic. By optimising #supplychain operations for #efficiency, we've not only rescued more quality food but also delivered 500,000 extra meals. Learn how OzHarvest and Deloitte Australia partnered on an impactful journey to ensure more food reaches those in need: https://deloi.tt/3UcLgjN #FoodSecurity #ImpactThatMatters

18 organisations have been selected to receive a grant share of this year's Coca-Cola #ThankYouFund. Assessed under the categories of #learning and #sustainabledevelopment, one organisation that received a grant this year was Mayo North East in Mayo. The funding Mayo North East received will support a project called "Waste Wise Kitchen" which will run two ten-week programmes focused on food waste, cooking skills, healthy eating, and ways to reduce food waste and be more sustainable. To find out about the 18 local community groups that will receive a grant share of this year’s €200K Coca-Cola Thank You Fund, visit https://lnkd.in/dKM-SKrJ https://cch.smh.re/2I7

Yesterday marked a watershed moment for Food Traceability and FSMA 204. The Reagan Udall Foundation released its Top-line learnings (https://lnkd.in/gSGvgUri) from a series of conversations held over the summer regarding FSMA 204. A key recommendation was the need for a Public-Private Partnership (PPP). The foundation stated, "A well-organized PPP, which might include state regulators and public health agencies, could facilitate collaboration to support implementation, and could help build consistency on data structure, requirements, timing, and standards. In addition, a PPP could provide a platform to compare pilot learnings and to aggregate implementation challenges to share with FDA." In a timely response to this recommendation, the Partnership for Food Traceability (PFT) officially launched yesterday at www.pftraceability.org. The PFT embodies the Public-Private Partnership described in the Reagan Udall Foundation report. Over the next month, we're actively recruiting members for the PFT, with board elections slated for October. I invite you to visit the PFT website (https://lnkd.in/gVTynrH3) and learn about membership in this critically important non-profit organization. Please feel free to reach out to me directly if you have any questions. Time is certainly of the essence as January 2026 is fast approaching, and we're excited to begin this collective Public-Private journey! Join us in shaping the future of food traceability. #FoodSafety #FSMA204 #FoodTraceability #PublicPrivatePartnership