A proposal to oblige supermarket chains to donate food that is no longer fit for sale has emerged in the Lithuanian parliament. Although it would help more people in need, charities say they do not have the capacity to collect it all.
Last week, MP Tomas Tomilinas registered a proposal that supermarkets should be obliged to give to charity food that was no longer fit for sale but was safe and suitable for consumption.
This requirement would apply to all supermarkets with a sales area of more than 400 square metres.
Food waste in Lithuania amounts to almost 400,000 tons per year, and about one-sixth of it is generated in retail, according to Tomilinas.
“Food is being wasted, the number of deprived people is increasing, and NGOs have signalled to us that it is time for such a proposal,” he said.
The five largest supermarket chains say they support the proposal but point out that there are already logistical problems because charities are unable to collect all the donated food.
According to Tomilinas, however, supermarket chains must not only give away all the food that is no longer fit for sale but also take care of the logistics.
“My position is that the responsibility for this process lies not only on the state and NGOs but also on supermarkets,” the MP said. “They must not only donate the food but also contribute to the logistics. Supermarkets do not operate in a vacuum, they have social responsibilities, a huge market share, they dictate prices and are highly profitable.”
“The supermarkets will have to share some of their profits with society. After all, they have logistical, administrative capacity, they employ a lot of people, so they will have to figure out how to give their products to the public instead of throwing it away,” he added.
Simonas Gurevitius, the head of Maisto Bankas (Food Bank), welcomes the proposal registered in the Lithuanian parliament.
“Saving food is our main mission, so we are very happy to see the legislation that contributes to it. It is paradoxical that every fifth person in Lithuania lives on the poverty line, every ninth person lacks quality food, but every third product produced is not used to feed people,” he said.
According to him, Maisto Bankas rescues around 6,000 tons of food – most of it from supermarkets – every year and gives it to people in need. The charity organisation helps to feed around 170,000 people every month.
Gurevitius stresses that the charity organisation could help even more people, but more funding would be needed to collect all the food that is no longer fit for sale.
“In other countries, when laws are passed banning the throwing away of food that is still fit for consumption, they are accompanied by funding for charities to cover the increased logistics costs,” he said.
However, the head of Maisto Bankas points out that supermarkets are already incurring costs by giving food to charities, so it would be fair for the state to contribute to the logistics.
LRT.lt contacted the five largest supermarket chains that donated food that was no longer fit for sale but suitable for consumption.
Vaida Budriens, a representative of the IKI supermarket chain, says that its stores donate 3,500 tons of food to Maisto Bankas every year, and another 800 tons are given to animals (zoos, farmers and shelters).
“We have been donating food to Maisto Bankas for more than 20 years. We give away almost 6 million euros worth of food a year. So, we are the largest and oldest food donor,” Budriens said.
Darius Rylitkis, a representative of the Norfa supermarket chain, said that it donated around 1,000 tons of food to charity organisations per year.
“The amount could be higher if charities and aid organisations could collect everything. There are areas in Lithuania where there are no charities able to collect the food,” he said.
Representatives of Maxima, Rimi and Lidl supermarket chains also said they gave the food that was no longer available for sale to Maisto Bankas. Meanwhile, the food that is no longer fit for human consumption goes to farmers and biofuel producers.
Moreover, Lidl also provides financial support to Maisto Bankas to cover the costs of collecting, transporting and distributing food. (LRT/Business World Magazine)