Who we are?
Who we are
The Hungarian Food Bank Association is a non-profit organization that works to
make a link between surplus food and people in need in Hungary in order to help reduce poverty, hunger and malnutrition.
The Hungarian Food Bank Association started its work in September 2005, and became a full-fledged member of the European Federation of Food Banks (FEBA) in 2006.
Mission
We're searching surplus food to pass it for the needy, saving food and reducing hunger at the same time.
Vision
We strive to raise awareness among players of the food chain, who then -with or without the Food Bank- offer the surplus food for the needy instead of eliminating it.
Hungary produces 1.8 million tons of leftover food annually. If the amount were to be put on trucks, it would reach from Budapest to Paris. Meanwhile, thousands of people live in food insecurity all over the country with more than ten thousand children.
Apart from helping the needy, we also prevent the incarceration of the food, we also save energy. Therefore, the Food Bank has social and environmental benefits by being an aid- and green association.
The Food Bank receives leftover food for free from food producers and retailers in all cases. We also give it to our partners free, who then distribute on a non- profit basis.
“Only” the logistics, the storage, the transport and organising have costs. We can take 30 000 Ft worth of leftover food to the needy with only a 1000 Ft operational cost.
Our organisation
The Food Bank has 13 full- time employees and more than 60 volunteers, taking care of the daily workload. The volunteers have a major role in office administration, storage work and even ad hoc jobs sometimes.
Main principles
- receiving and
- handing out free of charge
- political
- religious and
- ideological independence
Values
- efficiency- 1000 Ft HUF operational cost ensures the distribution of 30 000 Ft worth of leftover food.
- 20 employees and 60 volunteers ensuring smooth operation
- trustworthy partner network to reach the people in need
- transparency
- reliability
- consistency and equality during distribution
- almost 20 years of professional experience
- professionalism
- innovation
- adopting foreign practices to a Hungarian context
Please help us to save more food and support more people, support our cause here!
What we do?
Since our establishment:
- we distributed 107 200 tons of food worth over $224.5 million (80 billion HUF)
- to more than 300 000 people in need
- in partnership with 600 non-governmental organizations and municipalities
With the help of our volunteers:
- we find and collect surplus food about to be discarded in retail stores, factories and process plants
- we donate these products to specialist charities and local institutions
Our core activities include:
- non-profit wholesale
- express distribution of surplus food from supermarkets
We do not offer direct donations to individuals, only to local organizations.
Our results
In 2023 the Hungarian Food Bank Association delivered 10,100 tons of food donations in Hungary, to more than 250,000 people, including the result of our Spring and Christmas Food Collections (436 tons).
What we offer?
To charities:
- we support them with food donations for free of charge, helping their acitivites and budget,
- we are more effective to save food from the manufacturers in the name of more charities,
- we help them in the logistics: storage, transfer of food donation
To food manufacturers:
- we help them with food saving, logistics, and sharing the saved food to the charities
- giving the food surplus to the food bank the companies don't have to spend money on storage, transfer and food destruction
- tax benefits
- we garantee the appropriate storage and transfer circumstances of saved food
- PR goals for the companies