Food rescue and community kitchens

Good surplus food from shops, bakeries and producers goes to food banks and community kitchens the same day. We count every kilogram and every meal.

Discuss a food rescue pilot All programme ideas

Why it matters

  • In 2024 the EU wasted about 129 kg of food per person. Households produced 53% of it, about 69 kg per person. Eurostat, 2024 data
  • The 2025 EU waste law requires EU countries to cut food waste by 2030, compared with the 2021–2023 average: by 10% in processing and manufacturing, and by 30% per person across shops, restaurants and households combined. Directive (EU) 2025/1892

Programmes

Each one is scoped with you: place, budget, timing and what we measure. A first pilot runs in one place for a few months.

  • Food rescue

    Worldwide

    Collect good surplus food from shops, bakeries and producers and bring it to food banks and community kitchens the same day.

    We count
    Kilograms collected (weighed at pickup), kilograms passed on, pickups made
    We look for
    Meals served, households reached regularly

  • Community kitchen days

    Worldwide

    Cook and share meals with seniors, families and neighbours, using rescued food where it is safe to do so. Your staff can cook too.

    We count
    Meals cooked, people at the table
    We look for
    People who come back, new contacts people say they made (short anonymous survey)

How we report it

Every report keeps what we counted apart from what changed, says how each number was measured, and lists what the data can't show. Where it helps your own reporting, we map the data to:

  • B4SI: inputs, outputs and impacts of community investment
  • GRI 413-1: local community engagement and impact assessment
  • ESRS S3: affected communities, if your group reports under the EU sustainability rules
  • UN SDG target 12.3: halve food waste per person at retail and consumer level, and reduce food losses

Rules we follow here

On top of our general rules: no gambling promotion, recognition only where the law allows it, independent partners and open books.

  • We work only with partners that follow food-safety rules for donated food: cold chain, labels and use-by dates.

  • No photos of people receiving food. We photograph the food, the kitchen and the work.

  • Rescued food goes to people for free. It is never resold.

Start a pilot

Your staff collect, sort or cook for a day with a partner kitchen. Tell us the countries you operate in, your timing and a rough budget, and we will reply with a pilot outline.

Email info@cuthere.lv How we work