Hungarian Food Bank Association: 20 billion forints in donations that could have been lost

The Food Bank Association celebrated its twentieth anniversary in 2025. The initiative was once established by thirteen good friends to use their own resources to take action against the increasing amount of food waste. They wanted to find the surplus but still usable stocks of manufacturers and retailers, so that they would not end up in the trash, but would reduce hunger. The goal has remained the same since then, but the collaboration has become nationwide, operating as a network of eight thousand volunteers and hundreds of local charitable organizations.

Since its inception, the Food Bank movement has saved more than 300 million portions of food and delivered it to people in need in the country. But last year will be remembered not only for this special milestone and anniversary, as the value and quantity of food distributed also reached new heights.

Surpluses are put to good use

The total weight of food saved in 2025 exceeded ten thousand tons (10,684,994 kg), two-thirds of which came from supermarkets, but the Association also took in significant surpluses from manufacturers and catering establishments.

“Last year, we visited 792 stores across the country every day for leftover baked goods, aesthetically defective fruits and vegetables, non-perishable food, and other fresh goods. In the meantime, we were in constant contact with more than a hundred manufacturers and distributors, from whom we collected more than 1.2 million kilos of products that were nearing their expiration date, had defective packaging, or were otherwise unnecessary,” said András Nagygyörgy, the Food Bank’s director of external relations.

A significant amount of untouched food was collected from school cafeterias, canteens, conferences and company dinners: more than 555 thousand portions of ready-made meals were saved and delivered to those in need. The amount of non-food donations (such as household chemicals, cosmetics and IT equipment taken over from office buildings) also increased significantly, their value exceeding 347 million forints.

The helping network that reaches those in need

The collected donations reached even the most remote parts of the country. The Food Bank distributed the rescued products to those in need through a total of 711 smaller, local charitable organizations: family support services, crisis shelters and transitional homes, senior care centers, large family associations, institutions helping the homeless and people with disabilities distributed the rescued products among their beneficiaries. During the year, 243,919 people were supported, most of them several times a month.

Where every support has a thirty-fold impact

In terms of the value of the products delivered to those in need, the last year was clearly the most successful year for the food rescuers to date.

“The donation of 19.96 billion forints is a unique achievement, especially in light of the fact that the Food Bank does not operate with state subsidies. We cover the costs of food rescue with the support of well-intentioned individuals and companies, as well as 1% donations from taxpayers,” added András Nagygyörgy.

The work carried out by the Food Bank is one of the most effective ways of helping those in need, since – although it involves saving products that are still perfectly suitable for human consumption – these are no longer needed by traders, and can therefore be taken over for free. The only costs are therefore transportation and storage, which are negligible compared to the value of the rescued food. Last year, for example, an average of 55 million forints worth of food was distributed every day, but the costs did not reach even a thirtieth of this.

A charity that also protects the environment

The mission of food rescue is not only about solidarity, but also an important environmental activity. If we can prevent the destruction of surpluses, we can avoid wasting the resources used in agricultural production, processing of raw materials, packaging and transportation of food.

The environmental footprint of the 10.6 million kilos of food waste saved by the Food Bank in 2025 would have been equivalent to 27 thousand tons of CO2 emissions. This is the annual emissions of more than ten thousand cars.