Food waste in Moldova amounts to over 15.3 billion lei annually. According to economist Veaceslav Ioniță, expert of the Institute for Development and Social Initiatives “Viitorul”, 20% of the food products purchased by Moldovans go to the garbage can. The largest part of food is wasted in urban areas, IPN reports.

The citizens of the Republic of Moldova spend approximately 45 billion lei on food products. “About 8 billion lei spent on food will be thrown to the baggage can by each of us this year. In villages, a part of the products are used to feed animals, while in towns everything goes to the trash can. In towns, food waste is about two times larger than in villages,” Veaceslav Ioniță posted on his blog.

The expert said food waste in Moldova is twice larger than in other states. A part of the unused food products is thrown out, while another part is lost before reaching the consumers in shops.

“If we have a mechanism for redistributing the products thrown away, we will be able to double the food ration for over 1 million Moldovans who undereat due to poverty. If we optimize food costs and do not waste so much, the saved money can be enough to pay all the bills,” noted the expert.

With the encouragement of the First Food Bank of the Republic of Moldova, alongside a number of persons, the expert has announced the launch of the marathon “Stop Food Waste” that will last from December 24 until January 2. In the period, those involved will tell how they fight food waste and will urge others to do the same.