©FAO/Alessandra Benedetti

The UN agency based in the Italian Capital will donate excess food and other basic products to the Foundation of Rome’s diocese

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 Mons. Enrico Feroci, Director of the Rome-based charity branch for Caritas, the UN agency will donate excess food and other basic products coming from its headquarters in the Italian capital to the Foundation of Rome’s diocese.

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 or 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 will do its share of duty by avoiding wasting good food and usable products.

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

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