AIB and Irish non-profit social enterprise FoodCloud have renewed their partnership for another three years and have launched a new programme that will see a meal service offered to their community partners. The partnership with AIB is expected to support the provision of an additional 200,000 community meals, saving an additional 100 tonnes of surplus food from going to waste. The community meals programme will be especially valuable to charities who are limited in terms of cooking facilities, resources and culinary skills, according to FoodCloud chef Janice Downes.
“AIB empowers people to build a more sustainable future, while FoodCloud is dedicated to tackling the twin issues of food waste and food insecurity,” explains AIB corporate affairs director Barry Field. “We have a shared vision of building more sustainable communities to support the just transition to a low-carbon economy and an Ireland where no good food goes to waste.”
“We’re an Irish non-profit social enterprise fighting food waste and food insecurity by rescuing good surplus food and getting it to community groups around the country,” says Downes. “Since we started 10 years ago we’ve redistributed the equivalent of more than 300 million meals, that’s 126,000 tonnes of surplus food redistributed to over 7,000 charities internationally and 403,200 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent avoided from going to waste.
“We work together every day with our donors and partners, like AIB, to ensure good food gets to great communities through our tech-based food donation platform, Foodiverse, in five markets internationally, and via our warehouse hubs in Dublin, Cork and Galway,” she adds.
Food rescue, or surplus redistribution, is a climate action that enhances the sustainability of the food system while supporting vulnerable communities in need of that food, Downes explains. “We know that food loss and waste require a collaborative response from food businesses, governments, community partners and individuals, and we want to do more, to rescue more food and get it to vulnerable communities in the way that is useful, hence the idea for AIB FoodCloud Community Meals was born.”
In addition to that partnership, AIB volunteers and other groups of volunteers go to the FoodCloud Kitchen to create meals for the organisation’s community partners. “The volunteers learn all about food waste and what it means for the planet, and how rescuing the food transforms it into opportunities to nourish communities,” Downes points out. “I create the menu for the dishes we serve at FoodCloud Kitchen as well as for the AIB FoodCloud Community Meals programme, based on what’s available and ‘in surplus’. We get donations of perfectly good surplus vegetables as well as herbs and store-cupboard staples, all of which are put to good use.”
She enjoys working with the volunteers. “Guiding the volunteers is good fun. A lot of the time they are already strong cooks with an interest in food, but sometimes I’m showing them the basics, as well as talking about food waste at home, and we exchange tips to preserve and use up food. They are always in good form, getting out of the office and into the kitchen is energising for them as well as for me.”
AIB’s partnership with FoodCloud has been in place for over six years and has to date helped FoodCloud redistribute 12,000 tonnes of surplus food or more than 28 million meals, avoiding 38,409 tonnes of CO2-equivalent emissions, according to Field.
Explaining the importance of tackling food waste he points to the latest figures from the Environmental Protection Agency. “An alarming one billion meals are wasted every day worldwide, contributing to environmental degradation and exacerbating food insecurity. Volunteers are an essential part of FoodCloud’s service and over 2,000 AIB colleagues have completed over 11,000 volunteer hours, supporting the FoodCloud warehouse team, gleaning fresh vegetables from farmer’s fields, and now cooking meals in the kitchen, raising awareness about food waste and the impact of redistributed food on communities across Ireland, and contributing to FoodCloud’s overall vision of a world where no good food goes to waste. AIB is immensely proud to be part of FoodCloud’s work, aligning to our leadership position on the sustainability agenda.”