Turning Waste into Hope: How Out-of-Date Food Is Feeding Those in Need

Every year, millions of tons of food are thrown away—not because it’s unsafe to eat, but because it’s passed a “best before” date. At the same time, millions of people go hungry every day. In a world where both food waste and food insecurity are rising, a growing number of charities are stepping in with a radical, common-sense approach: rescuing food deemed “expired” and redirecting it to feed those in need.

Consum and Mas y Mas have partnered with Project 4 All in a heart warming effort to reduce food waste and support the growing number of people facing food insecurity.

Project 4 All collects boxes of Out-of-Date food directly from these supermarkets and prepares grocery bags for those in need who have the capacity to cook but have limited funds for food. This "food waste" is turned into nutritious meals.

An estimated 88 million tonnes of food are wasted in the European Union alone—much of it still edible. That waste comes at a high cost: not just socially, as millions go hungry, but environmentally, as food production and disposal significantly contribute to climate change.

Food waste is responsible for 8–10% of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization. Producing food takes enormous resources: water, energy, land, and labor. When food is discarded, all of those resources are also wasted. Worse still, when food ends up in landfills, it releases methane—a greenhouse gas over 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide.

By redistributing out-of-date but edible food, initiatives like the one between the local supermarkets and Project 4 All are addressing both sides of the issue: feeding people and protecting the environment.