Spanish Parliament opens the debate on the donation of surplus food

Overview

On 23 January Fondazione Banco Alimentare Onlus (Food Bank Foundation) was invited to participate in a public hearing at the Spanish Parliament in Madrid organized by the associations of the food industry, distribution and catering sector in cooperation with the organizations of the third sector – Federación Española de los Bancos de Alimentos and Cruz Roja Española.

The purpose of the meeting consisted of deepening the debate on a legislative proposal recently presented in Spain aiming at promoting and facilitating food donations. The General Secretary of Marcas de Restauración, Mr Juan Ignacio Díaz, started the parliamentary hearing by presenting as speakers: Ms Angela Frigo, EU Liaison Officer at Fondazione Banco Alimentare Onlus; Mr Antonio Blanco, director of the Fundación Alimerka; and Mr. Jacques Thomas, director of operations at KFC Iberia. The intervention of Ms Angela Frigo was focused on the Italian experience in the field of food donation thanks to the “Good Samaritan Law” and the application of the Siticibo programme.

According to Ms Angela Frigo “the Italian experience has gained thanks to a good understanding between institutions, food business operators and civil society, which has allowed us to acquire valuable experience in the management of surplus food, developing a legislative framework that facilitates food donation “. “Indeed – Ms Angela Frigo continued – Italy shows that it is possible to promote public and private initiatives, improve the efficiency of the agri-food supply chain, reduce food waste with positive impacts on the environment, tackle food insecurity and, above all, ensure that the health of the final beneficiaries, the most deprived, is protected”.

The presentation of Ms Angela Frigo received positive comments from members of all the present political parties (Ciudadanos, Podemos, Populars and Socialists) and representatives of trade associations. We hope for a rapid adoption of the legislative proposal in order to allow Spanish non-profit organizations to increase the sources of supply through the recovery of surplus food from the collective and organized catering, school canteens, hospitals, hotels, etc., and from the distribution sector.

Contact name: Angela Frigo
Contact email: frigo@bancoalimentare.it
More info link: https://www.bancoalimentare.it/en/node/4721