Banks in Europe

MAY 10TH-12TH 2012: THE EUROPEAN FEDERATION OF FOOD BANKS INVITED THE FOOD BANKS OF 25 EUROPEAN COUNTRIES IN VILNIUS TO WORK ON FOOD SUPPLIES.


80 representatives of the Food Banks, current or potential members of the European Federation of Food Banks (FEBA), met around the theme of partnerships with stakeholders in the food chain (producers, food industry, supermarkets). The challenge is to increase, in a sustainable way, donations of food products about to be discarded, in an effort to reduce food waste and to promote solidarity.

Representatives of the European Commission and Parliament, of multinational companies of the food chain (Carrefour Foundation, Kraft Foods Lithuania and Nestle Baltics) also participated in these discussions. These companies provide food products to the Food Banks and support their actions by financial donations or services.

The participants emphasized the need to urgently address the problem of food waste in particular because of ethical issues, related to the increasing number of deprived persons within the European Union, where 80 million people live below the poverty line (Source: Eurostat), and also in order to develop the concept of "sustainable food". "To feed the increasing world population, we will need the equivalent of three planets," said a Commission representative.



Food Banks are an integral part of the food chain, and as such will be involved in the working group of the European Commission on food waste that will define actions to be implemented.



 Among the actions that have to be to carried out in the shortest possible time frame: the need to inform the public about the "expiry date" of foodstuffs so as to clarify the terms used and what they cover (particularly the "use-by date" which has to be respected for safety issues, as opposed to the "best-before date" which guarantees optimum qualities of taste, appearance and nutrition of products but is not linked to any risk for the health). In this respect, European laws do not prohibit the sale or the donation of products after the "best-before date". A proposal is under consideration to lengthen the number of products that are exempt of a "best-before date".
It also appears necessary to clarify the figures published on food waste, making a distinction between surpluses and losses, between products that are discarded and those used for other purposes (biofuels, animals, crops left for soil regeneration, etc....), and furthermore to be able to locate geographically, and by food sectors, the recoverable sources.

The Food Banks network could also use significantly more surplus food (fresh products) if financial aids were granted for transport and/or processing of products. To date, these logistic costs are indeed too important for the Food Bank budgets.

A website database with best practices to fight against food waste, available to the European Union countries and translated into six languages, will also be created. This database will include information allowing the food chain actors to communicate with the Food Banks located in the European Union.

During the meeting, workshops of exchange of good practices were also held, in particular on the fruit and vegetable recovery program, as part of the European Union legislation and from local producers, as well as donation of food on the internet, established by Food Banks, in addition to the major national collections held in stores.

Finally, the participants also discussed on the future of the European Programme of Food Aid to the most Deprived (PEAD). FEBA advocates the creation of a new European Union food aid to replace the current program ending in 2013. Following the letter, jointly signed by the FEBA and seven other European associations on the future of the PEAD, and addressed to the "Employment and Social Affairs" Directorate General of the European Commission on March 27th, FEBA and other associations will be involved, starting in late May, in the work of the Directorate General for the definition of the future program.



FEBA: created in 1986 at the initiative of the French and Belgian federations, the European Federation of Food Banks gathers 247 Food Banks, who are struggling daily against hunger and food waste, in 21 European countries. In 2011, throughout Europe, 401,000 tons of food products equivalent to 800 million meals were distributed to 5.2 million people in partnership with 31,000 associations and social centers. During the Board of Directors of May 12, 2012, Isabel Jonet, President of the Portuguese Federation of Food Banks, was elected President of FEBA.