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Ahram Online
The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) office in Egypt launched a food waste reduction campaign in partnership with the Egyptian Food Bank.
The FAO website published, “The campaign aims to raise awareness on the issue of food waste in Egypt, comes in the light of the Egyptian government goals to enforce a new law to reduce food waste”. It also targets reducing food waste, improving food security and contributing to achieving hunger-free communities.
A recent FAO report revealed; “the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region relies on imports to meet over 50% of its food needs, yet it loses up to a third of the food it produces and imports, due to waste”.
Globally, the FAO estimates that 931 million tonnes of food, or 17% of all food available to consumers in 2019 went into waste bins of households, retailers, restaurants and other food services.
CEO of the Egyptian Food Bank Mohsen Sarhan said, “the campaign objective is to reduce food waste over the month of Ramadan”. The holy month traditionally features the consumption of large quantities of food at meals breaking the daily fast.
“The campaign also aims to educate citizens to purchase only what they need in Ramadan, and encourage them to give what exceeds their needs to poor families”, he added.
The campaign was launched in cooperation with the Unit for Monitoring Loss and Waste in Agricultural Products at the Agricultural Economic Research Institute which is affiliated with the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation.
The Egyptian Food Bank is the first non-governmental organisation in the country established to eradicate hunger and deliver adequate food to families in need. It was first launched in 2006.
