UAE Food Bank joins hands with Majid Al Futtaim and Replate to curb food wastage

The UAE Food Bank has signed a cooperation agreement with Majid Al Futtaim and Replate to enable all food enterprises at Majid Al Futtaim’s trading centres to donate surplus food suitable for human consumption.

This is a first-of-its kind partnership in the UAE wherein the UAE Food Bank will distribute food donations and surplus food from participating food establishments situated at the Mall of the Emirates, which will serve as the inaugural experimental mall.

The collaboration aligns with the UAE Food Bank’s commitment to provide food to people who need it through expansive and sustainable initiatives. It further supports the UAE’s vision of becoming a global leader in the Food Security Index by 2051, a key objective outlined in the National Food Security Strategy 2051.

The teams at the Food Bank conducted training sessions for food establishments, offering necessary guidance at every stage of the food donation process. This included instructions on collecting surplus and good food, ensuring proper packaging, facilitating appropriate transportation and trading to donation refrigerators. These activities were carried out under the supervision of health supervisors accredited by the Food Safety Department of each food institution operating within the Mall of the Emirates.

“The partnership achieves several of the UAE’s national goals, beginning with the preservation of blessings and fostering community responsibility towards specific target groups. Its primary aim is to reduce the volume of good food residues and enhance societal awareness in reducing overall waste and loss of food. This aligns with our government’s vision of maintaining environmental resource sustainability and achieving food security principles, in line with the strategic global directions and objectives outlined in sustainable development initiatives,” stated Dawoud Al Hajri, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the UAE Food Bank.

“Our strategic partnership with the UAE Food Bank and Replate signifies the commencement of our journey towards achieving Majid Al Futtaim’s goal of achieving a net positive by 2040. In just two months, the ‘Feed the Future’ pilot initiative has saved over 2,000 meals (15 kg daily), conserving 2.28 million litres of water, mitigating the emission of 2,050 kg of CO2. These outcomes underscore our unwavering commitment to creating a positive influence on the local community and the environment, added Fuad Mansoor Sharaf, Managing Director of Marketing Centres at Majid Al Futtaim Properties.

On its part, Replate will gather data on daily quantities of donated food from food donation fridges and provide the UAE Food Bank with periodic reports, including daily, weekly and monthly updates. These reports will be submitted after an analysis of the amount of waste reduction from surplus food, measuring the rate of food waste reduction in conjunction with waste management practices, and assessment of the environmental pollution reduction achieved through minimising carbon emissions from surplus food conversion and recycling.

RetailME Bureau