Banks in Europe

We work in close cooperation with food industries at European level, either upstream or as a complement of the local contacts.



KRAFT FOODS
Beyond the established relationships with local representatives of Kraft Foods, the Group has built a real partnership with five European countries through the assistance of FEBA: Poland, Hungary, Lithuania, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. After a first financial donation for the purchase of vans in 2008, Kraft Foods and Kraft Foundation, as part of their program to support local communities, have supported two consecutive programs in 2009 and 2010.

The 2009 program was to increase the visibility of Food Banks in those countries and thus obtain more support. It took the form of studies on food waste in industry, through communication actions, advertising campaigns, websites creations, conferences, contests and concerts, to encourage the businesses, the distribution networks and the general public in the fight against hunger and waste. This program brought many benefits to the countries, particularly in terms of donations of products.



The 2010 program aimed to support the growth of the food banks by recruitment of volunteers. The donation was used to fund the call of consultants or agencies to identify organizational models, job vacancies, processes and communication tools for recruiting and training volunteers. Particular attention was given to the positions of coordinator of volunteers, the collaboration between employees and volunteers and the increase of persons volunteering their skills. The countries also want to take advantage of the 2011 European Year of Volunteering to mobilize young people especially through partnerships with schools and universities.




CARGILL
Cargill is an international producer and marketer of food, agricultural, financial and industrial products and services. Founded in 1865, the privately held company employs 131,000 people in 66 countries.

Each year, Cargill focuses its efforts to support long‐term solutions to hunger, and improve youth nutrition and wellness. Cargill also looks for ways to leverage the company’s expertise in food, agriculture and risk management to address the complex challenges of ensuring a safe, accessible food supply, particularly for vulnerable populations, living in communities where it has a business presence.

Cargill has been working closely with FEBA, in order to support the growing number of Food Banks across Europe.

In 2009 & 2010, Cargill provided funding which enabled further development of existing food banks in Poland, Hungary and Lithuania. Projects are in discussions regarding Romania.

Cargill has also helped establish a new food depot in the UK, helped a local Belgian food bank to significantly expand, donated 22,000 litres of sunflower oil for delivery to local communities in Barcelona and provided employee volunteering support to local foodbanks in the UK, Poland, Belgium, and France.

In October 2010, Cargill announced its partnership with La Federation Francais des Banques Alimentaires, which will provide up to €120,000 in funding, product donations and services to the national network of food banks in France.

The cooperation between the company and FEBA’s Network will be pursued and strengthened in 2011.