site.btaBulgarians Waste 93 Kg of Food Annually on Average - Bulgarian Food Bank Director

On average, every Bulgarian has dumped 93 kilograms of food in 2023, according to data from Eurostat quoted by the Bulgarian Food Bank (BFB) Executive Director Tsanka Milanova here on Wednesday. The value of this food at market prices is BGN 520, Milanova reported on the occasion of World Food Day, October 16, which is celebrated for the third consecutive year in Bulgaria.

Some 614 million kilograms of food is wasted in Bulgaria annually. One kilogram of apples require 700 litres of water to grow.

The BFB has been able to save more and more food products, with data showing that in the first nine months of 2024, both the amount and value of food that ended up in the bank went up year-on-year.

Since its establishment in 2012, the BFB has kept from waste over 2.4 million kg of food worth about BGN 11 million, which was then provided to social institutions. Last year, the bank served more than 169,000 kilograms of food, with an estimated social contribution of BGN 2.2 million.

Milanova reported that the middle part of the food industry is still responsible for wasting nearly 350 million kilograms of food per year, while another 260 million kilograms is generated by households.

The BFB will cooperate with the retail chain Fantastico to launch a joint campaign with a message to save food. At the end of November, the retailer will once again host BFB's Kilo of Kindness campaign, building on its participation with volunteers and doubling the food donated by customers, said Fantastico Group CEO Svetoslav Gavrilov. The campaign to collect food with a longer shelf life will take place on November 30 and December 1 in some of Fantastico's supermarkets.

Milanova pointed out that we are still far from meeting the goal of eliminating world hunger by 2030, to which the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has committed. According to FAO, 733 million people are still malnourished in hot spots around the world this year, while the EU wastes more than 85 million tonnes of food daily.