FoodCloud agrees three-year partnership deal with Danone

FoodCloud, a social enterprise tackling the twin issues of food waste and food insecurity in Ireland, to help educate and empower community groups nationwide to prepare nutritious meals using surplus food, has agreed a three-year partnership with Danone Ireland.

The partnership aligns with Danone’s mission to ‘bring health through food to as many people as possible’ and will see the company provide a nutrition education programme as part of FoodCloud’s Community Support Programme, which assists approximately 600 charities and community groups around Ireland with educational resources and training.

Through the partnership, Danone’s registered dietitians and nutritionists will directly support FoodCloud’s charity and community group partners  which is based in Broomhill in Tallaght, with an annual webinar and the provision of recipes and nutritional information.

The aim is to help charities and community groups around Ireland in making the most of surplus food and preparing nutritionally balanced meals for those who use their services.

In a recent report, the Department of Social Protection estimated that during 2022, 9% of people in Ireland experienced food poverty. By contributing to its Community Support Programme, Danone aims to help FoodCloud increase the volume of food redistributed by 10% and grow the number of charities and community groups it supports by 50 new charities annually. The three-year partnership will also allow FoodCloud to distribute the equivalent of over 600,000 meals.

Furthermore, Danone’s unlimited volunteering policy means its more than 740 employees around Ireland can support FoodCloud at its three food distribution hubs in Dublin, Cork and Galway.

Aoibheann O’Brien, Partnerships Director at FoodCloud said: “We are committed to not only ensuring that perfectly good food does not go to waste, but also supporting our community group partners to make the most of the surplus food they receive.

“We look forward to working with Danone to develop recipes that support our brilliant network of charity chef partners nationwide with new ideas on how to use the surplus food we provide.”

FoodCloud’s recent survey with its charity partners revealed food purchasing has become more challenging for families and individuals.

One charity that will benefit from the partnership is Whitefriar Community Centre in Dublin.