Donation of surplus food: Half a tonne of food has been saved from households’ food reserves

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many households have increased their food reserves. For this reason, the National Food Chain Safety Office (Nébih) and the Hungarian Food Bank Association encouraged consumers to donate non-perishable foodstuffs which would not be consumed before the 'best before' date, to those in need. 576 kg of non-perishable food have been collected and saved from going to waste. These non-perishable food products have been redistributed to vulnerable groups by partner organisations of the Hungarian Food Bank Association.

New website for educational materials

The educational materials developed by the National Food Chain Safety Office have been consolidated and published on a new website. On this website, teachers can easily access the educational materials focusing on food waste prevention and information on food safety risks, addressed to children of 4 to 14 years old. Materials include children’s books, audio files, animations, editable presentations, games and a guide for educators. With the beginning of summer holidays, these materials can be useful for parents and summer camp organisers to initiate discussions with children on the topic of food waste and sustainable food consumption.

Which habits should be targeted for food waste reduction? A new research in the field

The research team of the Wasteless programme published a study which aimed to explore behavioural patterns linked to household food waste (using partial least squares structural equation modelling - PLS-SEM modelling). The results show that consumer habits regarding handling and preparing food are the main reason for discarding food at home. This observation underlines the importance of early education and awareness raising, using proper messages and stimuli, in order to shape routines and behavioural patterns.

The research was co-funded by the EU’s LIFE Programme. The results have been published in the Journal of Environmental Science and Pollution Research. The full paper is available here.