The first branch of the UAE Foodbank opened on 19 April in the Al Quoz area of Dubai with the objective of making Dubai the first city in the region to achieve zero food waste.
The UAE Foodbank will be used to collect, pack, store and distribute meals to those most in need through partnerships with hospitality and F&B companies and charitable organisations.
Since being announced in January 2017, the UAE Foodbank has forged partnerships with 96 hotels, 240 food outlets and seven charitable organisations.
At the opening of the UAE Foodbank, Her Highness Sheikha Hind bint Maktoum bin Juma Al Maktoum, Chairman of the UAE Foodbank Board of Trustees said: “I am extremely proud to see the first branch open only three months after the announcement of the UAE Foodbank initiative in January. The site is equipped with all the necessary technical and logistical amenities to provide support and sport the launch of the foodbank’s operations.
“The UAE Foodbank represents one of the most humanitarian values in the UAE, and is well on its way to becoming one of the country’s largest humanitarian institutions, widely spreading the culture of giving within a sustainable institutional framework.”
Dubai Municipality has said it will regulate all processes, introduce operational guidelines for stakeholders, and will continue to create strategic partnerships with organisations to maximise food usage and reduce waste.
The initiative is part of UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s vision to introduce a sustainable humanitarian framework that encourages philanthropic participation from the community, and ensures that no one goes hungry.
Hussain Nasser Lootah, the Acting Director General of Dubai Municipality and the Deputy Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the UAE Foodbank said: “The UAE Foodbank, under the umbrella of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives, is of particular importance as it seeks to weave humanitarianism into the social and cultural fabric of the UAE.
“The foodbank will give many people and institutions the opportunity to volunteer and actively participate in the process of giving food at all stages – from collecting, to storing, to packaging and then distributing the food to those in need.”
