Agriculture: 6,000 tons of food thrown away in Romania every day

About 6,000 tons of good food are thrown away in Romania every day, although 7 million people, a third of the country's population, live on the brink of poverty, data of Bucharest Food Bank show.

Mention should be made that 66% of families in the rural area cannot supply daily food and half of children living in the country are facing the risk of extreme poverty.

“It is a serious problem for all of us and its solution may bring relief to families in need. The Food Bank was set up three years ago in Bucharest as a pilot project for Romania, but now there is a second bank in Cluj and a third in Roman. We also have a project to function as of next month and hope to have such a bank in every Romanian region,” said Gabriel Sescu, the president of the Bank for Food Collection and Distribution, at a press conference.

“We are monitored by the European Federation of Food Banks to see if we observe storing rules, if benefiting organizations and people who receive food really are social cases. One of the problems raised three years ago  was whether food will reach those who really need it,” Sescu added.

The bank works with over 100 NGOs , 609 tones of food were collected, mainly from big food chains. 20,000 people benefited from the food.

The Association Bank for Food Collection and Distribution was set up in July 2016, as an instrument for the collection, storage and free redistribution of valid food and personal hygiene goods to organizations offering services to less favoured persons.

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