On the one hand, waste: 17% of the food produced in the world is thrown away, according to study published by the UN (United Nations) in 2021. On the other hand, millions of Brazilians who experience some degree of food insecurity —from not knowing if they will have enough food for the next meal to going hungry.
To combat these two problems, one idea: why not collect the surplus food left aside in industry and retail to prevent food fit for consumption from being thrown away and redistribute it to those who need it most?
For a year now, this has been the premise that drives the Everyone at the Table, the first Brazilian coalition of companies (among them, iFood) and organizations to combat both hunger and food waste by redistributing what is good to eat, but would otherwise be discarded.
The first step was taken on October 16, 2021, when iFood, Connecting Food, Carrefour, Nestlé and M. Dias Branco came together to launch this project. “ Todos à Mesa was born with the distinction of being a movement co-constructed with large companies in the food sector”, recalls Láislla Gouveia, socio-environmental responsibility coordinator at iFood. “To solve the problem of hunger, which is systemic, we need to look for solutions among actors who can bring solutions.”
The union produced results: in one year, the movement grew and has 15 companies — the new members were Bauducco, Camil, Danone, DPA Brasil, Lopes Supermercados, Gomes da Costa, Facily, Frexco and Pepsico, in addition to Design de Conversa, that supports governance.
In that first year, 6,000 tons of food were donated by companies participating in the coalition, an amount capable of supplementing the nutrition of 2.4 million people. “We want to attract ten more companies by March 2023 to expand this impact”, says Láislla.
Award-winning action
Todos à Mesa mobilizes companies to redistribute food suitable for consumption but which runs the risk of being wasted in the food chain. With support from Connecting Food, partners redistribute these products, which are safely donated to organizations combat to hunger and food banks in 19 states across the country.
In industry, for example, the waste of food leftovers is avoided when there is a failure in production or packaging, when the order is canceled by the customer or when the food is close to its expiration date and there is no more time to reach the retail. In retail, where fruits and vegetables are changed daily, imperfect or overripe foods are donated instead of being discarded.
All this mobilization has already yielded recognition: in July 2022, Todos à Mesa won the ECO Brasil 2022 award, created by Amcham and carried out in partnership with Época Negócios magazine, which recognizes the best and most innovative ESG practices (acronym in English for environment, social and governance). The movement was the winner in the Sustainability Practices category in the Processes for Large Companies category.
“Hunger and food waste cannot coexist. This recognition shows that we are on the right path and that there is an understanding in society that hunger and food insecurity are serious problems”, said André Borges, head of iFood sustainability, to the iFood News In this ocasion.
The future of Todos à Mesa
In October 2022, the movement joined the Pact for 15% with Hunger, a program created in July by the NGO Ação da Cidadania to address food insecurity in the country. With this, the coalition partners committed to donating, every 15th of the month (from September to December), an additional amount of food for the Covenant.
For Todos à Mesa to grow, the new challenge is to attract more partners in its second year of life. “When a company joins Todos à Mesa, it reevaluates internal processes to reduce waste”, explains Láislla. “The growth of the movement is not just about donating more and more, because this improvement makes them donate less. That’s why it’s important to have more companies participate.”
In 2023, the movement wants to bring new voices to the discussion on how to combat hunger and food waste. “Our idea is to bring startups and new actors for the dialogue. This way we can create new connections and generate value”, says Láislla. “Unfortunately, the issue of combating hunger is not yet saturated. Therefore, I see a lot of opportunity for companies to position themselves.”
Todos à Mesa is open to welcoming new partners; To join, simply get in touch using the form on the movement's website (www.todosamesabrasil.com.br). There, it is possible to find out what can be donated, who can donate and who can receive the food that will no longer go to waste.
