UAE launches One Million Saved Meals campaign to feed the needy

The UAE has launched a new humanitarian drive to deliver one million meals to people in need using food destined to go to waste.

The One Million Saved Meals campaign has been introduced by the UAE Food Bank in an effort to slash needless food waste and ensure vulnerable members of society do not go hungry.

The UAE Food Bank will work in partnership with dozens of hotels, retailers, fruit and vegetable markets. central kitchens and charities to serve up vital support in keeping with the spirit of Ramadan.

The scheme will support the work of the One Billion Meals campaign, which is providing food support to disadvantaged people in 50 countries during the holy month and beyond.

Sheikha Hind bint Maktoum, wife of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, and chairwoman of the board of trustees of the food bank, said the initiative would highlight how food surplus can be used for good.

“Since its establishment, the UAE Food Bank aided more than 37 billion beneficiary locally and globally, and we aim to continue expanding its operations,” she said.

“The UAE Food Bank is only one of many humanitarian initiatives by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, and its role is to highlight the value and blessings of food.

“Food surplus is enough to feed many, and this Ramadan’s campaign is part of the 1 Billion Meals initiative launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid.”

Sheikh Mohammed praised the campaign and the charitable work of his wife in a message on Twitter.

The value of food

The initiative aims to provide 33,000 meals a day during Ramadan with the support of about 200 hotels, food establishments and charities.

A team of 150 volunteers will aid the campaign's crucial mission.

The campaign will also use start-up company Reloop to provide an innovative solution to converting food not fit for consumption into organic fertiliser and biofuel from excess cooking oil to reduce waste even further.

On a mission to help those in need

The campaign will be split into four categories; the Goodness Kitchen Initiative, the Hotel Ramadan Buffet Initiative, the Ramadan Basket of Fruits and Vegetables and the Ramadan Meer Initiative.

The Goodness Kitchen initiative will focus on using food waste at co-operatives, supermarkets and retail stores, with the assistance of central kitchens.

This part of the campaign will involve assembling the components required to prepare specific meals after they are packed and delivered by the initiative’s partners to the UAE Food Bank’s warehouse, which in turn sends them to the central kitchen, where the meals are prepared and then distributed to needy families and workers.

The Hotel Ramadan Buffet initiative collects food surplus that is fit for consumption from hotel iftar buffets, and packs it into meals that are delivered to beneficiaries with limited incomes and labour housing in co-operation with the Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities Department.

The Ramadan Meer initiative collects basic foodstuffs from co-operative societies, supermarkets and retail stores and delivers them to the Emirates Food Bank’s warehouses. There, they are packed into containing the elements required to prepare a nutritious meal and then distributed to beneficiaries across the UAE.

The Ramadan Basket of Fruits and Vegetables focuses on preparing baskets that include fruit and vegetables in co-operation with the partners of the 1 Million Saved Meals Campaign, which are then distributed to underprivileged individuals and families.

Global statistics indicate about 1.17 billion tonnes of food is wasted each year, with a total value of $1 trillion.