Electrolux today launches the Food Mission project in Sweden, which aims to tackle the problem of food waste, by increasing awareness about the issue and supporting the development of models to minimize food waste. This is one of several employee-driven projects granted funding by the Electrolux Food Foundation.
Society has a giant problem on its hands – 795 million people are currently undernourished while 1.3 billion tons of food are being wasted. The Food Mission project, supported by Electrolux Feed the Planet partners Worldchefs and AIESEC, launches at Electrolux headquarters in Stockholm today (26 April) with ‘Taste the Waste’ – a tasting and fundraising lunch event to show how to turn perfectly edible food destined to be wasted into delicious meals.
Attendees will taste recipes that have been devised by Worldchefs to help change the perception of surplus food and show how good it can taste. All proceeds will go to Stockholms Stadsmission (City Mission), a Swedish not-for-profit organization who supplied most of the ingredients from its social supermarket which is filled with heavily discounted food that can’t be sold in supermarkets and surplus food directly from production.
Electrolux head of social responsibility Malin Ekefalk added: “Food waste is a huge global issue and with around 70% of Electrolux business being related to food, Electrolux believes it has a role in helping to solve this problem. Through Food Mission, our ambition is to support Stockholm in becoming a pioneer city in sustainable consumption, addressing the issue of food waste in the city. Our ‘Taste the Waste’ event is just the beginning and we look forward to launching Food Mission initiatives throughout the year and beyond.”
Food Mission is just one of several projects granted funding by the Electrolux Food Foundation, which was launched in September 2016 with an initial investment of SEK 10 million to support the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Leveraging on the Electrolux sustainability promise “Be a force for good,” part of the For The Better framework, the Food Foundation’s purpose is to contribute more to addressing global challenges such as food waste, responsible consumption, hunger and poor nutrition.
