The government of New Caledonia is working on a bill aimed at forcing, in particular, large retailers to donate their unsold goods to associations. Many of them invest in the redistribution network. However, food is scarce.
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Since the beginning of the year, the Food Bank of New Caledonia has noted a drop in donations. Stocks turn out to be meager and above all, the foodstuffs collected are not ideal for a balanced meal.
However, around sixty associations benefit from packages prepared at the sorting center in Noumea. “Right now, we don’t have much. The observation we make is that we have more drinks than food, explains Bérengère Lepetit, coordinator of the BANC. Unfortunately, that’s a problem for us, because we don’t feed people drinks. And at the dry level, we often have cereals or cakes. It’s always a plus for people who are in need, but it’s not a healthy and balanced diet.”
Volunteers from the Dorcas association regularly collect food from the food bank. Each week, Dorcas redistributes the donations to regarding thirty families faced with the increase in the cost of living. “At the moment, there are a lot of people in precariousness, all ethnicities combined. And it has increased since the Covid,” observes Didier, a volunteer with the association.
The Zéro waste Pacific company specializes in the recovery of food donations and fights once morest waste, which represents up to 500 tonnes per year, according to the government. The regulations in force consist of encouraging donations through tax deductions.
However, not all stores play the game. “Today, we work with around ten brands. We have collected around 200 tonnes of food every year, for two or three years, explains Olivier Bouissou, manager of Zéro waste Pacific. We estimate that we might multiply these quantities by three, since there are still signs that we have not managed to convince.
Even in the absence of an obligation to donate foodstuffs arriving by the sell-by date, many brands are contributing to this solidarity effort towards the food bank. All while reducing their waste. “Roughly once a week, we get in touch with the bank. To offer products that are reaching the end of their life. We are unable to sell them”, confirms Daniel Goetschy, manager of the consumer products department in a supermarket. “These are products that are still fit for consumption, but not salable.”
To fight once morest waste, a new free and 100% New Caledonian mobile application has just been launched: Foodbank. In a few days, already 2,300 New Caledonians have registered.
Objective: to allow partner merchants to liquidate unsold items at discounted prices. “It gives a second life to unsold items that might have simply been thrown away, says Marine Léger, manager of Foodbank. And it’s also part of another approach: helping people gain access to food at low prices. So it’s also a gesture of solidarity.”
The government is working on stricter regulations on food waste. Only large retailers will be affected. This bill of the country should make it possible by next year to meet the needs of thousands of beneficiaries.
The report by Joanna Robin and Cédric Michaut: