Over 330 million meals saved and redistributed by FoodCloud
The Irish non-profit, which operates a technology platform and three warehouse hubs in Ireland and is dedicated to fighting food waste and food insecurity, counts big corporates such as AIB and Tesco among its backers. It has launched a fundraising campaign to support the organisation to redistribute one billion meals by 2030 and to continue to get good food to those who need it most.
During 2024 the organisation redistributed 79 million meals across six countries. In Ireland alone, FoodCloud redistributed 3,896 tonnes of surplus food through partnerships with 195 food businesses and 674 community organisations. The financial report showed that at the end of 2024, it had a financial surplus of €156,479 and financial reserves cover for 26 weeks.
'Changing the narrative around surplus food requires a collective mindset shift, from growers to food producers and retailers, to consumers, so that no good food goes to waste when it can be used to feed people and strengthen communities.' said FoodCloud CEO and co-founder Iseult Ward said.
'In May 2024 we launched our most ambitious initiative yet, our One Billion Meals campaign. Our goal is to raise €25m by 2030 to enable the redistribution of one billion meals. These funds will allow us to rescue more surplus food across the supply chain, scale our impact in Ireland, and share our Foodiverse technology with partners around the globe.
In its report it outlined how reducing food waste through surplus food redistribution is 'a powerful climate action that food producers and retailers can and must get involved in if we are to reach our 2030 UN and EU targets'.
Food waste alone is responsible for 8pc to 10pc of greenhouse gas emissions, it said.
'The food system is the second-biggest contributor to climate breakdown after the energy industry and the single biggest contributor to biodiversity loss, deforestation, drought, freshwater pollution and the collapse of aquatic wildlife. In essence, saving food helps save our planet,' it said.
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