Reducing food waste has been recognised as the single most important individual solution to reverse the effects of climate change by Project Drawdown, the non-profit organisation that seeks to help the world reach “drawdown” – the future point in time when levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere stop climbing and start to steadily decline.
AIB is contributing to efforts to reduce food waste in this country through its partnership with FoodCloud, the Irish social enterprise that creates solutions to redistribute surplus food, tackling the twin issues of food waste and food insecurity. FoodCloud’s vision is for a world where no good food goes to waste.
Last year AIB renewed its partnership with FoodCloud for a further three years, investing €1.5 million to support the social enterprise’s ambitious 2021-23 growth strategy. The renewal came following a successful three-year partnership, during which 300 tonnes of surplus food were redistributed – the equivalent of 15.1 million meals and 20,353 tonnes of CO2 avoided.
“All over Ireland people are deeply aware of climate change with 97 per cent saying they are feeling the effects of climate change on their day to day lives according to AIB research,” says Mary Whitelaw, director of corporate affairs, strategy and sustainability with AIB.
‘A responsibility’
“As Ireland’s largest financial services provider, we have a responsibility to our customers and country to lead the way in the fight against climate change, ensuring a greener tomorrow by backing those building it today,” she continues. “Last year we built on the amazing work already done with FoodCloud by announcing the renewal of our partnership for the next three years.”
Since 2018, more than 1,400 AIB employees have volunteered at FoodCloud’s hubs for more than 8,500 hours, Whitelaw points out. This included packing food which was then redistributed to FoodCloud’s network of more than 600 charity and community group organisations, as well supporting FoodCloud in the areas of social media, technology and finance.
One organisation that has benefited directly from the surplus food provided by FoodCloud is Clonmany Community Centre in Inishowen, Donegal. Established in 1989, the community centre was built on donated land using local labour and now employs 24 staff in the provision of a range of services including pre-school facilities, breakfast clubs, after-school services, craft workshops, and sports and recreational activities.
The centre’s work with FoodCloud dates back to 2018 when Bébhinn Mullins took up office as centre manager. “I heard about FoodCloud on a course I had done, and I thought it was an incredible idea. I loved the ethos of that they were doing.”
That led to the centre teaming up with FoodCloud to use it as a teaching tool to help children using the after-school service to learn about food waste and where food comes from.
Food donations
“We selected some supermarkets and got food donations from them. The children would eat it and become aware of the food came from. If there was some left over the children would put it on a table in the centre for people from the community to take. Instead of going to landfill the food was going to the community centre where the children, staff and community consumed it.”
That table became the Community Food Pantry. The centre was forced to close during the Covid lockdowns, and the service became a box at the main door where people from the community could pick up food. That expanded subsequently and the pantry is now housed in a standalone walk-in container on the community centre site.
“It’s not a food bank, it’s a way of making a positive contribution to reducing food waste and it’s having a very positive impact on the community. Our motto is that what we do isn’t solely focused on the needs of people, but rather focused on the needs of the planet.”
Up to 70 households are now using the pantry every week.
Used by students
More recently, Mullins and her team worked with the students’ union in NUI Galway to develop the first Student Community Pantry in Ireland. The pantry is used by 65-75 students each day. “This has become so popular that we have had questions from other universities and community groups asking about our model in the hopes of setting up their own.
“FoodCloud has clearly demonstrated what can be done to practically address environmental and societal issues – protecting the environment while providing food to those who need it most,” Whitelaw concludes. “This closely aligns to AIB’s own carbon-reduction goals to achieve carbon neutrality in our own operations by 2030 and to increase green and transition lending to 70 per cent of lending to new customers by 2030.”