From food donation to filling up fridges

dubai — Khalid Mohammed Sharif Al Awadhi, assistant director general for the environment at Dubai Municipality, said over 8,000 meals were distributed as part of activities for World Food Day, which falls on October 16, every year.

Residents can contribute by donating their surplus packaged food to the 100 Food Bank Fridges deployed across mosques listed on Dubai Municipality’s website.

Jehaina Hassan Al Ali, principal food studies and surveys officer at the municipality, said throughout the week, an awareness drive will target residents and encourage them to donate surplus food.

Food establishments are encouraged to supply the fridges to maintain the habit of giving around the year. Al Ali said the fridges are supervised by volunteers from the food safety department to ensure food safety and call for industry to donate the right types of food.

Residents, schools and food establishments can participate in the #ZeroFoodWaste competition, until October 19, by presenting their ideas to reduce food waste at www.foodsafetydubai.com

Winners will be announced at end of October and honoured during the Food Safety conference in November. Winning establishments will get the opportunity to present their ideas to food experts at the conference.

“The competition is aimed to engage the community from all segments. We want to develop a culture of zero food waste in children from an early age,” said Al Ali. “The food industry is also targeted because a lot of food waste comes from chains.”

sherouk@khaleejtimes.com