Save Food, Share Food, Share Joy, an initiative of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) in collaboration with major food sharing organisations across the country will be launched in Ernakulam district on November 1.
FSSAI officials and representatives of Kerala Hotel and Restaurants’ Association and Bakers’ Association of Kerala have reached an agreement to launch the programme, which will bring together people from all walks of life, food businesses, civil society organisations, corporates, government and local government bodies as well as volunteers to see that food is not wasted but shared with the less fortunate members of society.
The groups will work in close coordination to recover surplus food generated, reduce the amount of wasted food and increase the amount of safe and nutritious food made available to those in need, according to FSSAI.
Despite large volumes of food being wasted, India has around 196 million people who are undernourished, and around 25% of the hungry live in India.
Sources in Kerala Hotel and Restaurants’ Association said FSSAI and hotels and eateries under the association had reached an agreement to work together on the shared food project. There are around 5,000 members in the association in Ernakulam district, and if all the units can be coordinated to make sure that no food is wasted and safe and nutritious food is saved to feed the hungry, it will make a big impact on the hunger scene. It is estimated that restaurants’ association has around 60,000 members under it across the State.
With a view to launch the programme, an awareness session was organised here last week under the aegis of FSSAI and food businesses, including bakers and restaurant owners. District Food Safety Deputy Commissioner Raghunatha Kurup inaugurated the programme and Assistant Commissioner P.K. John Vijayakumar presided.
A seminar on Save Food, Share Joy was led by food safety officer for Cochin Circle Nimisha Bhaskar. NGOs, KHRA, and bakers’ representatives attended the awareness session.
