About one in four children in Poland live in poverty and many low-income households cannot afford to put meat, poultry or fish on the table every other day, according to the Polish Central Statistical Office.
Henryk Kania, one of Poland’s biggest meat processors, has signed a long-term deal to provide food to the Silesian Food Bank, which wants to serve up meals to undernourished children.
“Henryk Kania, as a socially responsible company that regularly cooperates with the Silesian Food Bank, is very eager to join in this year’s food collection campaign,” said the company’s vice-president Dominika Rąba.
Millions of tonnes of waste
“According to the European Statistical Office data, nearly nine million tonnes of food are wasted annually [in Poland]. It is worth taking care that it reaches the needy, who are very many around us.”
Poland’s food manufacturing sector wastes over six million tonnes of food per year, according to data from the European Statistical Office and Silesia Food Bank. Homes waste more than two millions tonnes and the distribution sector is responsible for around 350,000 tonnes of annual food waste.
Henryk Kania has been exploring long-term methods to significantly reduce its food waste, and the agreement with the Silesian Food Bank is part of the strategy.
The meat processor began supplying meat to the food bank in August 2016 and estimated it has helped to feed around 50,000 people living in the Polish part of the Silesia region.