FAO and Caritas Roma sign agreement on food waste

FAO and Caritas Roma have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to provide assistance to people facing food insecurity in the Italian capital.

Thanks to the agreement signed today by Daniel Gustafson, FAO’s Deputy Director General (Operations), and Monsignor Enrico Feroci, Director of the Rome-based branch of Caritas, the UN agency will donate excess food and other basic products coming from its headquarters,in the Italian capital to the charity for distribution around Rome..

Every year, about one third of the food produced in the world for human consumption is either wasted or lost - an amount that would be enough to meet global food needs. FAO is at the forefront of efforts to avoid and reduce food losses and waste, including by raising awareness among industries, retailers and consumers. Gustafson, on the grounds that lasting change happens first and foremost through walking the talk, stressed that FAO shoulder its share of duty in the fight against waste, working both to  reduce food loss and waste and and making excess supplies through Caritas’ capillary distribution network.

FAO and Caritas International have a long lasting history of collaboration on themes of mutual interest related to the fight against hunger and poverty worldwide. The cooperation was formally institutionalized through an exchange of letters in March 2015.

This agreement is another example of FAO’s commitment to strengthen partnerships with academia, civil society, cooperatives and the private sector at all levels.