Forty thousand servings of care: food rescue in Hungary has reached a new level thanks to the collaboration between the Food Bank and a Budapest party service company

Over the past year, leftovers from events have been delivered to homeless shelters, civil organizations, and church and local government institutions, all in the name of sustainability. Under the program, meals are transported using blast chillers and refrigerated trucks, following strict food safety rules, thus guaranteeing their quality so that first-class hot meals end up on the tables of those who need them the most.

Food safety is given special emphasis in the cooperation. The Food Bank has developed a hot meal rescue methodology based on the guidelines of the National Food Chain Safety Office (Nébih). Only meals that have not come into contact with guests are rescued. The remaining meals are immediately placed in blast chillers, where they are cooled to below 5 °C. The food treated in this way is transported in refrigerated trucks and then reheated and delivered to those in need, fresh.

This is a practice already established in the European Union in Hungary. Countries such as France and Italy, which are key players in the fight against food waste, apply similarly strict regulations, the aim of which is to turn leftover food into valuable help rather than waste.

The Budapest catering service provider was the first to join the Food Bank’s hot meal rescue program in the spring of 2023.