Memorandum on food waste prevention signed at environment ministry

Chisinau, March 7 / MOLDPRES /- Ministry of Environment has signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with civil society for the next 3 years, which provides for updating and consolidation of the legal framework in prevention of food loss and waste.

The action was initiated under the project Partnerships for inclusive and sustainable social canteen services, which aims to facilitate policy dialogue between civil society, public authorities and food suppliers, in order to streamline social assistance canteen services for vulnerable groups and food waste prevention.

The European Union-funded project aims to drive a general change in food donation behavior and support for disadvantaged groups by creating a network for donating and distributing food surplus to social services to ensure their sustainability, including in situations of expedite. "The actions carried out will contribute to increasing the capacities of social assistance canteen service providers in delivering quality, sustainable services, including in emergency situations", the Ministry of Environment indicates.

According to the Memorandum, over the next three years, the parties will work together to improve the draft law on the prevention of food loss and waste, as well as the development of the regulatory framework for regulating the mechanism of food donation and redistribution. Non-profit organizations are to provide expertise to the Ministry of Environment in developing the platform for cross-sectoral collaboration between public authorities, non-governmental organizations, canteen service providers and food suppliers. They will also facilitate the exchange of best practices based on the models of the Member States of the European Union and develop a monitoring and evaluation framework based on the performance indicators recommended by the European Platform for Food Loss and Waste adapted to the national context.

Ministry of Environment will develop and implement policies that contribute to achieving the UN's 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, in particular the goals of eradicating hunger and ensuring food security, sustainable water management and taking urgent action to combat climate change. and their impact. The elaborated legal framework will allow the implementation of an innovative mechanism for the recovery and redistribution of food surplus to canteen services and vulnerable groups, thus increasing the access to food of people affected by food poverty.

The project is funded by the European Union, co-financed and implemented by Keystone Moldova, Concordia. Social Projects public association, Diaconia. The total value of the project is over 1.3 million euros.

Photo: Ministry of Environment