FOOD APLENTY, BUT WE’RE STILL HUNGRY
Hunger is one of the most urgent development challenges, yet the world is producing more than enough food. Recovering just half of what is lost or wasted could feed the world alone, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation
dubai — On the occasion of World Food Day, the Dubai Municipality has invited residents and industries to show zero tolerance towards food waste in the UAE.
As part of the World Food Day, which falls on October 16 every year, the municipality is organising donation drives, competitions and social media campaign #ZeroFoodWaste to mark the day.
Food waste remains a struggle challenging governments and countries worldwide, especially when the UN has stated that onethird of the food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted globally each year.
The UAE losses over Dh13 billion a year in food waste, and to combat this problem, the first location of UAE Food Bank was launched in April to allow hotels and companies to donate surplus canned and packaged food to labourers and families in need under a supervised system.
In its first four months, the Food Bank was able to distribute over 52 tonnes of waste to those in need. Through this donation system, Dubai aims to be the first city in the Middle East to achieve zero waste through distributing surplus food.
The Food Safety Department of the Dubai Municipality urges the public to make use of the Food Bank Food fridges located across the city and donate their packaged surplus food. To eliminate food waste and help the needy, the municipality is also planning to open 30 food bank across the UAE.
Fill up the fridges, please
Residents are urged to join the ‘Fill up the fridges’ campaign, to ensure the UAE Food Bank fridges are filled with food that can be donated to those in need. Only packaged food, though, can be added to the 80 food bank fridges scattered across mosques in Dubai. The public is encouraged to use the hashtag, #ZeroFoodWaste on social media to promote the theme.
Social media users can present innovative ideas and ways to identify food losses, their causes and potential solutions to reduce food waste through the website www. foodsafetydubai.com by clicking the link #ZeroFoodWaste.
Share your creative ideas and messages on ways and means to reduce food wastage using the #ZeroFoodWaste hashtag. To participate in the “Most Creative Post Competition’, residents can send the screen shot of their post to UAEfoodbank@dm.gov.ae.
Schools can participate in the poster and video competition by creating a poster or a video that conveys a message regarding the reduction of food wastage.
sherouk@khaleejtimes.com