(MENAFN- The Peninsula) sanaullah ataullah |
The Peninsula
Doha, Qatar: Qatar is witnessing a fast developing food saving culture thanks to initiatives by governmental and non-governmental organisations, which are contributing greatly to collecting surplus foods and educating people to reduce food waste.
Hifz Al Naema Center, the largest social initiative to reduce food waste in Qatar, is reaching most of the banquets and wedding parties, collecting the surplus foods in large quantity. The center has collected 228,217 surplus meals and distributed them to needy families and workers so far this year.
The food saving culture is also reflected in restaurants where most of the people opt to take the leftover food with them after dining.
Al Rayyan TV recently ran a programme on growing awareness about food saving in society. Speaking in the programme, Public Relations Officer at Hifz Al Naema Center, Muhammad Yousef Al Muftah said that the growing response from the community to the initiative of the center indicates rising public awareness on the subject.
“Most of the people who plan for banquets and wedding parties called Hifz Al Naema Center, asking it to collect the surplus food,” said Al Muftah.
To a question about the awareness programme of Hifz Al Naema Center, he said their representatives visit schools to educate students about the importance of food saving.
Speaking about the work mechanism of the center, Al Muftah said:“The center received two types of surplus foods - food commodities like meat, fish, dates, and grains which are being stored in cold storage to distribute to needy families in the country.”
However, he said, the cooked food collected from banquets and wedding parties is distributed to workers on the same day after proper repackaging.
Speaking in the same programme, Mohammed Jassim Al Abdullah, from a restaurant at Doha Corniche, said most of their customers - about 99 percent of those who dine at the restaurant, ask the waiters to pack their leftover foods.
He said earlier they might have felt shy in asking for packing the leftover foods but now the mentality of people in Qatar has changed.“In the menu of the restaurant, it is mentioned that customers can ask the waiter to pack their leftover food for themselves or those in need,” said Al Abdullah.
He said waiters at his restaurant have been given instruction to encourage customers to take away their leftover foods.
Regarding the plan of the restaurant about disposing of the surplus meals, Al Abdullah said:“We distribute the surplus meals to workers.”
Associate Professor at the College of Sharia and Islamic Studies, Qatar University, Dr. Sultan Al Hashemi urged the public to cook food in a moderate quantity and reduce food waste. He said excessive preparation of food is not encouraged in Islam.
As many as 252,936 people have benefited from the activities of Hifz Al Naema Center in 2023 so far. The activities include collecting surplus cooked meals, food items and in-kind contributions among others.
Event organisers and philanthropists can contact the center through hotline No. 44355555.
The center provides a balance between generosity of people and reducing food waste by collecting the surplus food and distributing it among needy families and workers.
Banquet organisers are required to inform the center through its hotline. In response, it dispatches vehicles to collect the surplus foods.