If all the food available on the planet was distributed, no one on Earth would be hungry. While the Western world is suffocating in an abundance of (unhealthy) food, many are starving. According to UNICEF data from September 2018, the number of hungry people in the world is growing – in 2017, one in nine people was hungry, a total of 821 million – South America and some African regions stand out. 3 million children under the age of 5 die of hunger every year.
Because of such sad statistics, the UN introduced World Food Day in 1976, which we celebrate on October 16th, the day the UN was established.
At Mikro+Polo we are also aware of the need to handle food carefully and to make sure that as little as possible ends in the trash. Therefore, since 2017, we have been distributing surplus food in our kitchen to the socially disadvantaged, who come to us through the UP-ornik Association. Unfortunately, we have had to abandon this good practice over the last year due to epidemiological safety measures, but we hope to be able to re-establish it as soon as possible.
Therefore, we were happy to find information about the 24-month targeted research project "Food Is Not Waste", which was launched at the end of 2020 at the
Biotechnical Faculty. It will focus on the various links in the supply chain and propose measures to prevent, reduce, and use food waste. The project team plans to connect with both the economy and end consumers.
The project is being implemented jointly with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Chamber of Agricultural and Food Companies, and is financed by the ARRS and the MAFF.
More about the project
