Memorandum of collaboration between the Ministry of Environment and civil society to prevent food waste
Keystone Moldova
Keystone Moldova English and Keystone Moldova Romanian
Keystone Human Services (KHS) is a non-profit organization that is a part of a global movement to provide support and expertise to people with disabilities.
Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Moldova, Keystone Moldova, Diaconia, and Concordia have signed a Memorandum of Cooperation aimed at updating and strengthening the legal framework in the field of prevention of food loss and waste.
The action was initiated within the project “Partnerships for Inclusive and Resilient Social Canteen Services” which aims to facilitate policy dialogue between civil society, public authorities, and food suppliers, in order to streamline social canteen services for vulnerable groups and prevent food waste. The EU-funded project aims to boost a general change in behavior on food donation and support for vulnerable groups, by creating a network for donating and distributing food surplus to social services to ensure their sustainability, including in emergencies.
According to the Memorandum, over the next three years, the parties will work together to improve the draft law on the prevention of food loss and waste and to develop the regulatory framework for regulating the mechanism of food donation and redistribution. The three non-profit organizations will provide expertise to the Ministry of Environment in developing the framework for cross-sectoral collaboration between public authorities, CSOs, canteen service providers, and food providers. Also, they will facilitate the exchange of best practices based on the models of the Member States of the European Union and will develop a monitoring and evaluation framework based on performance indicators recommended by the EU Platform on Food Losses and Food Waste, adapted to the national context.
In turn, the Ministry of Environment will develop and implement policies that contribute to the achievement of the UN’s 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, in particular, the objectives of eradicating hunger and ensuring food security, sustainable water management, and taking urgent action to combat climate change and its impact. The elaborated legal framework will allow the implementation of an innovative mechanism for the recovery and redistribution of food surplus to social canteen services and vulnerable groups, thus increasing the access to food of people affected by food poverty.
The project “Partnerships for Inclusive and Resilient Social Canteen Services” is financed by the European Union, co-financed and implemented by P.I. Keystone Moldova, the Public Association “Concordia. Proiecte Sociale,” and the Religious Institution Social Mission “Diaconia.” The total value of the project is 1,327,609 EUR.
