FAO and the Hungarian Food Bank Association support early education and food recovery in a Budapest primary school

Uneaten meals in Hungarian school canteens may get a second life. Until recently, these untouched portions were mostly discarded, but now they can be distributed to people in need. This marks an important step as, according to surveys, in some schools more than 10 percent of cooked food regularly goes to waste.

Already 500 000 leftover lunches saved from going to waste

The immediate success of the lunch-rescue initiative demonstrates its strong potential: although the programme is still in its infancy, it has already connected 27 schools with public catering kitchens and saved half a million lunches in just two years. To mark this milestone, on Tuesday afternoon, 25 November, the programme’s partners jointly rescued the five hundred thousandth lunch, placing it in a donation box at the canteen of the Kőrösi Csoma Sándor Bilingual Primary School in Budapest. 

"Today, we salvaged 24 servings of egg soup and 75 servings of zucchini stew with chicken nuggets from this school. Some meals were left in the kitchen because the parents of absent students were unable to cancel their meals in time, and of course some children simply do not like these dishes, so they did not opt for them. There are many people outside the school who would gladly eat them yet they cannot afford such a lunch. This programme allows us to help them," said András Nagygyörgy, Director of External Relations at the Hungarian Food Bank Association.

Shaping students’ attitudes

On the same day, students took part in a special lesson on lunch rescue, where they learned about practical ways to prevent food waste and make more sustainable eating choices. The presentation also highlighted the fact that the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), a global advocate for this issue, is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year. 

“The Food Bank’s lunch-rescue programme is valuable not only because it provides food to people in need. Its presence in schools is also an opportunity to shape students’ attitudes”, said Gyula Kasza, Head of the Department of Applied Food Science at the University of Veterinary Medicine, who, together with his colleagues, played a pioneering role in developing the lunch-rescue methodology. “A nationwide social programme to reduce food waste has been underway in Hungary since 2016. From the outset, our work has been supported by research and surveys on food waste, which clearly show where progress has been made and where further efforts are needed. Anyone interested in learning how sustainable their own household is can contribute to the research on the newly launched Wasteless Foundation’s website.”

Good for the environment

Few people realize that food waste is one of the most pressing social, economic and environmental challenges of our times. According to FAO data, one third of the food produced globally is wasted every year – an alarming figure, especially considering that nearly 700 million people worldwide face hunger. Concurrently, 8 percent of the greenhouse gases driving climate change are linked to food waste.

“By throwing away food, we also waste the resources that went into producing it – soil, water, biodiversity and energy – things we often don’t even think about,” said Viorel Gutu, FAO Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for Europe and Central Asia. “That’s why it’s so important for us, as individuals, families and as a society, to be aware of the problem and take responsibility for addressing it. As well as educating people – and, more importantly, children – about the problem, local initiatives like this can bring us closer to eliminating food waste.”