Brazil is among the world’s 10 biggest food wasters ― a staggering 30 percent of all the fruits and vegetables harvested in the country are discarded. On average, 40,000 tons of food are thrown away daily.
Brazil’s problem is part of a global food loss and waste problem. Worldwide, more than 1 billion tons of food goes to waste every year. At the same time, there are 870 million hungry people around the globe.
International organizations, civil society groups, governments, private sector companies and entrepreneurs have been ramping up projects that address food loss and work toward waste reduction.
One such initiative is the São Paulo-based “Invisible Food” project, which seeks to reduce food waste in the city by extending the lifetime of food products.
The founders, Daniela Leite, Flávia Vendramin and Sergio Ignacio are committed to raising awareness about food waste in their city.
The initiative has submitted a bill (PL 581-2015) to city councilman Ricardo Young, that if implemented would require companies to donate food products that may have lost their commercial value, but are still suitable for consumption.
The bill, which is currently under review by the city council, would also prohibit viable food from being discarded in landfills.
Leite, Vendramin and Ignacio also plan to set up a food truck that would serve meals made from recipes that make the most out of “invisible” food, or products that are traditionally wasted.
To set an example for the full reutilization of food, the truck will use ingredients donated by tradesmen from the Sao Paulo General Warehousing and Centers Company, as well as partner supermarkets.
The trio says that the profit from the food truck will be reinvested in projects to promote food waste awareness campaigns.
“Besides feeding people, the ‘Invisible Food’ initiative intends to bring awareness and information to the population, and recover lost food,” the founders explain.
Did you know that Brazil throws away 15 million tons of food every year?! We want to change that, so we have launched a crowdfunding campaign to set up a food truck of invisible food. The idea is to bring to the population information about how to fight food waste. Contribute, share and help our cause!
This piece was originally published on HuffPost Brazil and has been translated into English.