The UAE Food Bank to feed the needy is an initiative that will revolutionise the concept of the Year of Giving. According to World Food Programme statistics, around 795 million people in the world do not have enough food to lead a healthy life, which means one in nine people and this figure is alarming.
Large quantities of food are always wasted during our celebrations like banquets and buffets and weddings. It is common practice that we order enormous quantities of food and do not eat it. Even we can see restaurants serve huge quantities, we eat a little and, again, there is wastage.
Food waste means the wastage of national resources and it is really against humanity. If we can cut down food waste, we can cut down on the import of food products, also. There should be some mechanism via hotels that the ordered food should be consumed or it should be packed and taken off. The wastage of food is also harmful for the environment, as the carbon foot print of wasted food in the UAE is the equivalent of a million cars. It is often seen at buffets, people fill their plates with large quantities and then end up wasting the whole thing. It’s better to take small quantities and finish it. Let us train and teach our children not to waste food and start from our family itself.
The initiative by the Dubai authorities to start a Food Bank that can collect unused food and supply it to needy families and individuals, as well as people in labour camps is laudable. At least it is better than throwing food into the bin. I would still prefer we pay importance to order less and finish whatever is on the table.
We are fortunate enough to have three meals a day. Let us make this environment safe for our future generations and set forth a model for others. This will definitely place Dubai on the road to becoming a zero waste city in this region. Let us start this initiative from our kitchen not to waste food and be a model for others.
- The reader is a logistics manager based in Dubai.
