HEALTH AND FOOD SAFETY - European Food Banks Federation

First release of the online Observatory on Food Donation; FEBA joins forces with ‘The Vegetarian Butcher’; Banco Alimentare Italy and Alitalia partner to ensure recovery and redistribution of safe surplus food

date: 24/03/2021

First release of the online Observatory on Food Donation

On 9 February 2021, the European Food Banks Federation (FEBA) organized the final plenary session of the project 'Quantifying the Impact of European Food Banks – From Farm to Fork'. The session was open to the entire FEBA membership. It was the occasion to present the online Observatory on Food Donation and the work carried out in 2020 by FEBA, together with a Pilot Group of 8 FEBA members and external experts.

The project is still in its initial stage. The aim is to continue developing the online Observatory and involve even more FEBA members in this process of digital transformation. To know more about FEBA's project, please visit its dedicated webpage, on which you may find related materials and watch the video recording of the final plenary session.

FEBA partners with ‘The Vegetarian Butcher’

The Vegetarian Butcher, Unilever’s plant-based food brand, decided to stand with FEBA and its network. Following the signature of a charitable donation agreement between FEBA and the brand, in the last months of 2020, ‘The Vegetarian Butcher’ donated more than a million of delicious products to FEBA members throughout Europe.

Please find out more on FEBA’s website.

Food surplus became a gift: Banco Alimentare and the world of airlines - the case of Alitalia

The partnership between Banco Alimentare and Alitalia started recently, when Alitalia decided to donate to Banco Alimentare food and drinks that could not be served on board (due to the reduction in the number of flights, caused by the recent health crisis) and remained stored in Alitalia’s warehouses.

After an initial contact made with Banco Alimentare of Lazio, the collaboration between Banco Alimentare and Alitalia was extended to other regions of Italy, thanks to the capacity of an organization such as Banco Alimentare to cover the entire national territory. To date, 339 387 drinks and 1 156 sweet and savoury snacks and meals have been donated in 9 Italian regions.

Alitalia has declared that it has never made a donation equal to these quantities before. A moment of great precariousness in the world of airlines became an opportunity for the company's employees to give life to this solidarity initiative, driven by the desire to make a positive contribution, both from an environmental and a social point of view.

Please find out more on FEBA’s website.