Dubai - The new food bank is part of a series of initiatives from the municipality to mark World Food Day
Published: Mon 16 Oct 2017, 11:17 AM
Last updated: Tue 17 Oct 2017, 3:13 PM
Marking the World Food Day, the Dubai Municipality has officially launched the second UAE Food Bank at Al Bada area, aimed to fight food waste and help people in need.
Located next to the Canadian University of Dubai, the new bank will collect surplus packaged and canned food from nearby supermarkets and food establishments, which will be given to charity associations in order to distribute it to people in need.
KT NANO EDIT: Laudable initiative
Food banks for the less privileged prove the UAE has a large heart. It's not about consumption but sharing, and the plan to rope in companies to feed workers through these banks will ensure excess food does not go to waste. It's a smart solution when many people in the world go hungry. |
As part of the launch, the Dubai Municipality distributed over 100 food boxes to labourers. Over 1,000 workers from nearby construction sites were served juices, pastries, chapatis, cooked rice, dal and chicken - all which were donated due to their nearly-ending shelf life. The food received is stored in a refrigerated and a room temperature container and checked by two inspectors deployed at the new bank, operated, equipped and funded by Easa Saleh Al Gurg Charity Foundation, the permanent sponsor of the bank, officials said.
Hussain Lootah, director-general of the Dubai Municipality, said since the launch of the first location in Al Quoz in April, the municipality has distributed over 136 tonnes of food to the needy through charity associations and has fed hundreds of workers.
Five such banks are set to open across Dubai by end of this year and 15 by next year. "The first phase of the Food Bank initiative will look at distributing food across Dubai, and then across UAE, before expanding in the region.
From food donation to filling up fridges
Khalid Mohammed Sharif Al Awadhi, assistant director general for the environment at Dubai Municipality, said over 8,000 meals were distributed as part of activities for World Food Day, which falls on October 16, every year.
Residents can contribute by donating their surplus packaged food to the 100 Food Bank Fridges deployed across mosques listed on Dubai Municipality's website.
Jehaina Hassan Al Ali, principal food studies and surveys officer at the municipality, said throughout the week, an awareness drive will target residents and encourage them to donate surplus food.
Food establishments are encouraged to supply the fridges to maintain the habit of giving around the year. Al Ali said the fridges are supervised by volunteers from the food safety department to ensure food safety and call for industry to donate the right types of food.
Residents, schools and food establishments can participate in the #ZeroFoodWaste competition, until October 19, by presenting their ideas to reduce food waste at www.foodsafetydubai.com
Winners will be announced at end of October and honoured during the Food Safety conference in November. Winning establishments will get the opportunity to present their ideas to food experts at the conference.
"The competition is aimed to engage the community from all segments. We want to develop a culture of zero food waste in children from an early age," said Al Ali. "The food industry is also targeted because a lot of food waste comes from chains."
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During the launch ceremony, the municipality signed partnerships with three charities and 13 food establishments for food donation.
Khalid Mohammed Sharif Al Awadhi, assistant director-general for the environment at the municipality, said the next location will be in Al Qusais since it's an area surrounded by hypermarkets. He noted the choice of food bank locations depends on their proximity to food establishments.
"We chose this area (Al Bada) for the second bank because it's close to hypermarkets. We want to make it easier for them as we add more banks," said Al Awadhi.
"A lot of the food we receive is of good quality, but people don't buy it as it approaches its expiry date. We hope to save these products from waste and give it to those in need."
Only packaged food will be processed
Noura Abdulla Al Shamsi, head of food permits and applied nutrition section at Dubai Municipality, said the bank will focus on distributing packaged or canned food to avoid risk. "Hotels and restaurants have been asked to donate hot or ready-to-eat food to charity directly as the transfer process may harm the food that needs to stay in a certain temperature-controlled environment," said Al Shamsi.
The bank partners with a catering company to cook meat or chicken it receives before distributing it out to labourers.
Bobby Krishna, food safety expert at the municipality, said: "Sometimes establishments can't put it in markets because its shelf-life is almost over and they know consumers won't pick it up, which will put it to waste."
Krisha also said that a catering company cooks the food before it is distributed under the municipality's supervision.
sherouk@khaleejtimes.com
How it works
- A supervised truck collects canned or packaged food from authorized food establishments and hypermarkets and delivers it to the bank.
- Once food items arrive, they are checked by inspectors on site to check if it follows safety guidelines.
- The food is then safely stored and stocked in boxes
- Charity associations are then contacted to pick up the food items and distribute it to the needy.
- Food unfit for consumption will be recycled and converted to fertilizers, officials said.
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