A solidarity and waste combat project in the Matosinhos and Angeiras markets
Assuming the challenge that we can all make a contribution to reduce food waste and promote a more sustainable diet, whether in the family, in restaurants, canteens, hotels, markets or in the social area, the municipality of Matosinhos intends to be a reference in the fight against food waste.
One of the projects implemented is the "Solidarity Market", a project involving the municipal markets of Matosinhos and Angeiras, which has a double strand.
Besides avoiding the waste of fresh food, it supports people and families in economically vulnerable situations.
Fresh products and/or leftovers from sales are donated and collected by social solidarity institutions, partners of the municipality, which ensure their distribution to needy families.
From January to July this year, 576.58 Kg of food were donated in the municipal markets of Matosinhos and Angeiras, helping 569 people, almost as many as during the whole year 2021 (668 people, with 787.2 Kg of food).
About 1/3 of all the food produced annually worldwide is wasted and a large part of it comes from restaurants, canteens, and our homes. This is what the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reveals.
Food waste represents, in Portugal, the loss of 1 million tons of food and is responsible, every year, for about 8% of greenhouse gas emissions.
The adoption of a consolidated strategy to combat this waste could feed about 360 thousand people with food shortages in Portugal.