Save Food, Save Humanity campaign (Framework for Giving)

Published on February 12, 2022

Objective of the "Save Food, Save Humanity” campaign was to increase public awareness in Serbia of the problem of food waste and insufficient food donations, and also to contribute to the improvement of practices that would encourage increased food donations.

The project contributes to two Sustainable development Goals:

- The SDG 12 - Sustainable Consumption and Production, and in particular Target 12.3 - By 2030, halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reduce food losses along production and supply chains including post-harvest losses, as well as

- The SDG 2 – Zero Hunger in two ways: Target 2.1 - by donating food surplus to the most vulnerable and Target 2. c - by raising awareness among citizens and other non-food businesses through the media campaign about the negative effects of food waste and the need for food donations.

In Serbia, 7% percent of the population lives on the edge of absolute poverty, that is, almost half a million people. Many of these citizens depend on food donations, which are currently insufficient, while an estimated two million kilograms of food are thrown away daily in Serbia.

Despite the fact that food donations are increasing, and food producers and merchants want to donate surplus food to soup kitchens, food banks, and charities, the amount of food donated still makes up only a small portion of the total surplus edible food available in Serbia. The solution lies in the closer cooperation of all stakeholders.

When it comes to environmental impact, food destruction is one of the biggest air pollutants, generating eight percent of GHG emissions.

This project enables the food producers and retailers to organize their surplus to be available for humanitarian organizations. It involved most relevant stakeholders both in segments of donors and non-profits that enabled close cooperation, traceability, and complete history of the actions. The project is designed as scalable and adaptable to other companies and suppliers to join the project in the segment of donation, distribution, or promotion that stimulates food donations and raises awareness on the necessity to reduce food waste and its negative impact on the environment.

The campaign was implemented by the Coalition for Giving, led by the Ana and Vlade Divac Foundation, with the financial support of USAID.