Re-food: volunteer driven community charity working to eliminate food waste and hunger on a neighborhood basis

Re-Food
Type of organisation or company
Country
Portugal
City
Lisboa
Language for original content
Key Area
Scope
Submitted by
Technopolis Group
Ongoing
Yes
Description

Re-food is an independent, citizen driven, fully volunteer, eco-humanitarian community charity, working to eliminate food waste and hunger on a neighbourhood basis. This Portuguese movement targets at ending food waste and hunger by saving food which was going to waste at local venues. This way, excess food from supply partners is collected and stored in containers, then taken to the Re-food operation centres, where it is divided into portions, which are distributed to people in the community.

Re-food envisions a "new world", where:

  • everyone has the food that they need;
  • all of the food produced goes first to feed people;
  • citizens participate actively in the management of precious community resources.

With a strong focus on the involvement of local communities with their initiative, Re-food offers assistance to anyone who desires to implement it correctly in their local community. Furthermore, it seeks to involve local public and private institutions in their work, in all possible aspects. Therefore, it aims at involving cafes, restaurants, bars, among others, into their actions, and all citizens willing to spare a few hours per week to help are more than welcome.

Main results

Started in 2011, the project currently has:

  • more than 7 000 volunteers, serving about 120 000 meals per month
  • 6 500 beneficiaries in 45 centres
  • 1 600 food source partners all over Portugal
  • over 900 partners cooperating as food sources in Portugal.