During the week, the Bulgarian Food Bank presented startling data on the amount of usable food that continues to be wasted in our country and in Europe. In an effort to draw the public’s attention to this problem, the Bank and the Fantastico retail chain announced a joint campaign “It’s not for throwing away”, a message to save food. We are talking about this strategic partnership with the executive director of the Bulgarian Food Bank, Tsanka Milanova, and with the executive director of the FANTASTICO GROUP, Svetoslav Gavrilov.
– How was the idea of ”Not for disposal” born?
Ts. Milanova: We have worked with Fantastico on a number of initiatives related to reducing food waste and helping people in need over the past 12 years. This naturally built and strengthened trust between the two organizations. In partnership with dozens of companies from the food industry, the Bulgarian Food Bank saved over 2.4 million kilograms of food from waste for over BGN 11 million, with which over 60,000 people suffering from malnutrition and at risk of poverty were supported in the country.
Food loss and waste, however, is not just a phenomenon in the food industry. With almost the same acuteness, the problem also exists among households and is directly related to the way in which each of us perceives food and realizes the consequences of throwing it in the garbage. Much of the food waste can be avoided through better awareness, planning of purchases and sensible consumption. In this, we are joining forces with Fantastico with the common message of saving food in our joint campaign ‘It’s NOT for Throwaway’. I am glad that we are implementing this awareness campaign at the initiative of Fantastico and I believe that only the cumulative effect of each person’s efforts would lead to better results nationally.
St. Gavrilov: Each campaign of the Bulgarian Food Bank, in which we have been a partner, has been more and more successful with each passing year. Our customers’ commitment to the topic and their desire to donate a kilogram of goodness in the form of a long-lasting food product was growing. The teams in our supermarkets are also sympathetic to the Bank’s cause and this motivates us to build on our cooperation. Of course, our commitment to donating food products has not stopped, as over the years we have supported various groups of disadvantaged people – children, the elderly, victims of natural disasters, refugees.
– How can the message about saving food that you send to society help to deal with the problem of food waste?
St. Gavrilov: According to the latest Eurostat data, every Bulgarian wastes an average of 93 kg of food per year. In our country, in 2022, over 614,000,000 kg of food waste was generated, the value of which is estimated at over 1.8 billion BGN. My understanding is that even 1 kilogram of wasted food is too much against the background of so many people who are in a difficult situation. It is this data that I hope will reach as many people as possible to think about how they can be more responsible as consumers. Change, no matter what topic, starts with each of us in a personal capacity.
Ts. Milanova: With every action we take, we try to remind that less wasted food means more for the family budget, more for people in need and more care for the environment. I will give one financial, one social and one emotional argument. The financial one is a simple exercise – try for a month each week to write down on a piece of paper the amount of each wasted or uneaten food – and write down the amount you paid for it. At the end of the month, calculate how many leva you threw in the garbage. Then try to calculate how long you worked for that amount and stop there. Now let’s see the effect of numbers – imagine that with these funds you can buy a cinema or theater ticket for your loved ones or donate products to those in need – the possibilities of being useful with these funds are endless. And finally comes the emotional – instead of feeling embarrassed that you’re wasting food against the millions in need around the world, you’ll feel a sense of satisfaction that your responsible act has done something good.
– Why are the data on the disposal of usable food in our country and in Europe disturbing?
St. Gavrilov: Because the data shows what a huge resource we are frivolously wasting. Behind every kilogram of wasted food is the work of dozens of people, limited natural resources are used, and in the end this product is simply forgotten in the refrigerator and thrown away. At the same time, millions of people in our country and around the world suffer from malnutrition.
Ts. Milanova: Placed in a social context, the data on food waste is alarming, especially when we know that over 1.3 million Bulgarians experience financial difficulties and are at risk of poverty without being able to afford quality food and regular nutritious meals every day. This is too high a social and ethical price that we should not pay as a society.
– What are your personal rules for a responsible attitude to food?
Ts. Milanova: For me, the responsible attitude to food has been a profession for more than 15 years. At the Bulgarian Food Bank, we work to ensure that food remains food and is shared. Every day we serve hundreds of kilos of quality, fit and safe food that is redundant in the food industry. I hope that more and more companies will join our partner circle of like-minded food savers.
St. Gavrilov: For us, one of the most important professional commitments is to prevent food waste. On a personal note, since I’m not a very experienced cook, I tend to only buy some basic items to take home. I try to have a clear idea of what I want to buy when I’m in the supermarket as a customer, although I don’t make a shopping list.
– How important is it that this cause is recognized by more companies from the food industry, as well as by society as a whole?
Ts. Milanova: For years, we have been working for an environment and practices that encourage companies with surplus food to donate and share it with people in need. All food donated to the Bulgarian Food Bank is exempt from VAT, so that it is more profitable for donors.
In this sense, as important as responsible consumption is for each of us, it is no less important that every company in the food business does what is necessary to ensure that food travels to people in need, instead of becoming waste.
St. Gavrilov: I think that only with a joint effort – manufacturers, traders, consumers and non-governmental organizations we can tackle this serious problem or as we like to say at FANTASTICO – “Success is where we are together”. The first step is to think about and change our personal habits, at the same time the industry has the responsibility not to allow food waste and to have enough information about the possibilities of saving food through the Bulgarian Food Bank, which has established outreach mechanisms to those in need.
– What is the next step in the announced strategic partnership between the Bulgarian Food Bank and FANTASTICO?
Ts. Milanova: I believe that the joint campaign “It is NOT for throwing away” is only the beginning of a larger and long-term educational work.
At the end of November, for the 12th year in a row, Fantastico will host the Kilogram of Kindness campaign with the message of responsible shopping, solidarity and sharing food with a person in need.
St. Gavrilov: This year we will build on our Kilogram of Kindness participation with our fellow volunteers and double the food donated by customers. We expect our total contribution to exceed 10 tons of usable food products that will reach vulnerable people.
– For another year, FANTASTICO supports “Kilogram of Kindness”. What is the motivation for the company’s team?
St. Gavrilov: At first glance, it may sound illogical for a retail company to call for responsible consumption, as every retailer strives to make more sales. But unless each of us, both as a business and as an individual, rethinks our own responsibility for this huge problem and changes our behavior, we cannot expect change.