Dubai to open second food bank on October 16

The first UAE Food Bank during it's opening day in Al Quoz, Dubai.- Photo by Dhes Handumon

The Dubai Municipality will open the second UAE Food Bank on October 16, which is marked as the World Food Day, Khaleej Times has learned. The second food bank will be located close to the Canadian University of Dubai, just behind Al Khazzan Park, to help curb food waste from food establishments and consumers, and help feed the hungry.
On World Food Day, the civic body will also organise food distributions and donations to thousands of labourers.
The UAE Food Bank receives surplus canned food, packaged food and pastries from establishments and hypermarkets, after which representatives contact charity associations. The organisations then collect food items and distribute them among the needy.
Noura Abdulla Al Shamsi, head of food permits and applied nutrition section at the Dubai Municipality, told Khaleej Times that the new location was selected because "it is a busy, dynamic area surrounded by numerous supermarkets - including Union Coop, Spinneys and The Dubai Mall". These outlets can easily donate their surplus food to the bank.
Al Shamsi said the choice of opening the food bank during the World Food Day stems from the fact that the day and the food bank have the same goal: Fight food waste and hunger.
Through the bank - which opened its first branch in Al Quoz in April to be the connecting point between food establishments and charities - the country aims to be the first to achieve zero food waste, while helping people in need.
While the donation system was initially scheduled to receive ready-to-eat food from restaurants and hotels to enable charity organisations to distribute it among the needy, Al Shamsi said charity associations have been advised to contact these establishments directly.
"The transfer process of hot food can subject it to risk...ready-to-eat food needs to be under a certain temperature-controlled environment. To be on the safe side, we have requested charity associations to contact hotels and restaurants directly, and both sides preferred it that way," said Al Shamsi.
The food bank will, therefore, receive and distribute low-risk food. Al Shamsi added that the bank sometimes receives meat, in which case the civic body partners with a catering company to cook it before distributing it among the needy.
According to the UN, one-third of food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted globally each year. Food waste costs the UAE Dh13 billion annually.
UAE Food Bank explained
>The first food bank in Al Quoz opened in April
>It helped distribute 52 tonnes of food in first four months
>The two large refrigerated containers of 4°C receive an average of 18 boxes a day, each packed with 15kg of packaged and canned food
>A total of 30 food banks will open across the UAE, with 15 to be launched by end of 2017
>The bank has so far partnered with over 35 food establishments and about 15 charity associations
>Residents can also donate food through 80 food bank community fridges scattered across mosques in Dubai
sherouk@khaleejtimes.com