Dubai: Under the directives of H.H. Sheikha Hind bint Maktoum bin Juma Al Maktoum, Supreme Chairperson of the UAE Food Bank and wife of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the UAE Food Bank hosted its annual ceremony to honour strategic partners, supporters, and volunteers as part of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives.
According to Emirates News Agency, the ceremony acknowledged the contributions of various government departments, institutions, charities, hotels, private sector entities, and volunteers. These individuals and organizations played a significant role in supporting the Food Bank’s initiatives throughout the year. The UAE Food Bank reported distributing 24,586,367 meals to beneficiaries in the first nine months of 2024, marking a 93 percent increase compared to the same period last year. This achievement surpassed the bank’s annual target and reinforced its mission to promote kindness, sustainability, and social responsibility while enhancing food security and m
itigating food waste.
In the first three quarters of the year, the UAE Food Bank distributed 166.7 tonnes of food, equivalent to 416,750 meals, with the support of 925 strategic partners and donors, including food establishments, hotels, and companies. Over 5,000 volunteers contributed, impacting more than 24.5 million people both domestically and internationally. The Food Bank successfully diverted over 9 million meals from landfills, preventing 3,700 tonnes of food waste, and promoting environmental sustainability by reducing carbon emissions.
The UAE Food Bank’s efforts contributed to environmental, social, and economic sustainability by managing surplus food, redistributing it to beneficiaries, and recycling unsuitable food for composting with the help of private-sector partners. Collaboration with Nimah, a national initiative aimed at reducing food wastage, resulted in a 47 percent reduction in food wastage at participating hotels between 2022 and 2024.
Through the No Waste Ramadan initiative, 63 hote
ls worldwide conducted training and awareness programmes for 400 employees, fostering social responsibility and significantly reducing food wastage. The initiative also included the distribution of 300 food waste sorting bins in hotel kitchens, diverting 401,266 kg of food from landfills. Additionally, 232,946 kg of non-perishable food was recycled, and 46,589 kg of compost was produced to support over 50 local farms, collectively reducing carbon emissions by 1,003,166 kg.
Dawoud Al Hajri, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the UAE Food Bank, highlighted that these accomplishments reflect the UAE’s commitment to humanitarian work and the core values of charity, solidarity, and brotherhood embedded in UAE society. He emphasized that the UAE Food Bank is a sustainable institution committed to achieving the UAE’s Sustainable Development Goals and delivering food to those in need.
Al Hajri expressed gratitude to all strategic partners, donors, and volunteers for their support, underscoring their social
responsibility and humanitarian spirit. Their collective efforts have enabled the Food Bank to achieve its goals of providing sustenance to its beneficiaries.
The UAE Food Bank organized 150 awareness programmes, engaging 3,437 community members and food facility workers to encourage better food preservation and reduced wastage. Additionally, 18 new partnership agreements were signed to strengthen strategic partnerships in support of the Food Bank’s mission.
During Ramadan, the UAE Food Bank distributed 7,322,694 meals as part of the ‘5 Million Meals Initiative,’ with sub-initiatives including ‘Food Baskets’, ‘Your Breakfast with Us’, the ‘1,000 Cookers’ programme, and an iftar for 5,500 workers at Zabeel Park in Dubai.
In response to the ‘Al Hadeer’ depression, which caused extreme weather and unprecedented rainfall, the UAE Food Bank provided 114,910 meals to affected individuals, demonstrating its commitment to community welfare during emergencies. The UAE Food Bank operates on principles of humaneness,
philanthropy, sustainability, and social responsibility, with long-term plans to support people in need globally.
