Supermarkets and food producers waste less and less foods. Good news, in principle, but not for food banks. Last year, food banks were already able to hand out about 5 to 10 per cent less, this year they received 20 per cent less food.
The Food Bank was once set up to distribute food that would otherwise go to waste to needy people. "That flow is diminishing," says Food Bank board member Paul van Berkel in the NOS Radio 1 News.
Van Berkel says the Food Bank is still managing with donated food for now, but he foresees problems for the future. "Especially now, in winter, you can see that the flow of fresh produce has not yet picked up and our stocks will start to dwindle."
The Netherlands has 177 food banks that help some 105,000 people every week, 42,000 families. With supermarkets and food producers getting better at curbing waste, the supply of products from those chains is decreasing.
There is a particular need for healthy foods. "Even with products like bread, which we used to have in abundance, it is now starting to become very difficult," he says.
Meat no longer comes in at all. "The meat chain is very efficient, very little is wasted. And consumers buy meat at the end of its shelf life, so those are products we are short of."
Van Berkel calls on producers and supermarkets to donate products - if it is no longer possible from a waste prevention point of view. "And we also want to ask consumers to support the local food bank or donate money. We can buy stuff from that."
Source: NOS
