Where did 288 million portions of surplus food go in the country?

Food waste is one of the most important social and environmental problems of our time. According to UN surveys, one third of the food produced on our planet is wasted every year, which can be considered blatant irresponsibility considering the nearly one billion hungry people. The picture is even bleaker if we add that one tenth of greenhouse gases are also due to waste. Unfortunately, there is a lot of loss in Hungary too, approximately 93 kilos per capita every year. If we put this surplus on trucks, the line would reach from Budapest to Nuremberg.

Many small people really do go a long way

A group of thirteen friends who, based on a French example, founded the Hungarian Food Bank Association in 2005, tried to find a solution to this challenge. “We wanted to collect as much food as possible from manufacturers and retailers that was nearing its expiration date and had packaging defects, but was still fit for consumption. If these products could end up on the tables of those in need instead of being destroyed, everyone would benefit,” said Balázs Cseh, one of the co-founders and president of the Food Bank.

The founders’ goal was to distribute the rescued food to those in need through smaller charitable organizations across the country, since they know the situation of the people living in their area and those most in need best. Today, more than 600 partner organizations – family helpers, elderly care providers, children’s homes, homeless shelters, civil and church institutions – save and distribute donations, supplemented by thousands of volunteers. Thanks to this, a quarter of a million people receive food in the Food Bank network every year.

288 million portions – feeding the audience of the Puskás Aréna three thousand times

It is difficult to imagine 288 million portions of food, and what it takes to collect and deliver so much surplus. Our task is a little easier if we follow a single day of food rescue. Food Bank volunteers and the aforementioned charitable organizations visit 778 supermarkets every morning to pick up leftover baked goods, vegetables and fruit from the previous day, which amounts to 22-25 tons per day. Meanwhile, approximately 5 tons of non-perishable food are dispatched daily from the Food Bank’s Budapest warehouse, these products usually come directly from the manufacturers. In the afternoons and evenings, rescues are mainly carried out from events, hotels and canteens, these hot meals are a real celebration in the everyday lives of each beneficiary family.

Of course, the task also includes delivering the food quickly to its destination – even before the expiration date, paying attention to food safety regulations. Food bank food distributions take place at approximately 550 locations across the country every day.