Bulgaria's first food bank, which was established earlier this year, has managed to collect more than 30 000 kilograms of donated food for a period of just two months.

"The goal during the first months of our operations was to put in place a system, which guarantees that the food is easily traceable. Both the donators and the agency for food control had to be sure that we treat the donated food safely," Marina Brakalova, executive director of the food bank said in an interview for Dnevnik daily.

The food bank has built logistics systems, which record how and when the donated food was received, to whom it was directed, under what conditions and when. The system operates as a unified commercial system.

The food bank is already proving what its founders expected – that this is a win-win situation, according to its executive director.

"Life showed that we were right to expect the donated food would be good and edible, with an expiry date in two or even more weeks. But for some reason it remained unsold. The food bank saved the food from being destroyed, distributed it to people, who need it and cut methane emission. So we have both a positive economic and environmental effect," Marina Brakalova pointed out.

Two non profits, six companies related to the food industry and one IT company presented in April Bulgaria's first food bank, which they established with the goal to fight hunger and unnecessary food waste. The bank has been operating for two months.

Founders, which provided monetary and material donations for the start up, included the Bulgarian Association of Meat Processors, Bella Bulgaria, Bio Bulgaria, Kraft Foods Bulgaria, Neterra, Piccadilly, Road Runner, Tandem-V, FORA – Community Development Foundation.

"Bulgarian Food Bank" has set itself the goal to quickly develop capacity and infrastructure so that donated food can start reaching out to greater numbers of people in the country.

It is established to develop and serve as the connecting point between healthy food throughout the food industry and the social sector serving people who have no access to adequate nourishment.

"Bulgarian Food Bank" has been established as a result of the work of the Bulgarian Foodbanking Planning Forum, an informal platform for consultation and planning with more than 40 governmental, business and civil organizations participating.

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