On 26 June 2025, Banca de Alimente, the Food Bank of Moldova, opened its doors to the public. On the occasion of its 4th anniversary, current partners, representatives of the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry, as well as teams engaged in sustainability initiatives, had the opportunity to learn more about the mechanism through which edible surplus food is saved daily and redirected to social services feeding people in need.
Participants in the event had the chance to discover the Food Bank’s facilities and internal processes, as well as to take part in a guided visit to two of its partner soup kitchens: the canteen of the Diaconia Social Mission and the canteen of Regina Pacis Foundation, both of which serve hot meals daily to elderly people in vulnerable situations.
Oleg Paraschiv, Director of the Food Bank of Moldova:
“Since 2021, the Food Bank has recovered circa 440,000 kg of food from 77 economic agents. This food was distributed to 87 social services nationwide, reaching approximately 10,000 people in need. In addition to our recovery activity, our team focuses on two other main areas: food waste prevention education and advocacy for national legislation that encourages food donation over food disposal. Collaborating with the Food Bank brings major benefits: social services diversify their menus and reduce intervention costs, while economic agents contribute to a sustainable effort ensuring that food finds its way to those who need it most.”
Zinaida Romașco, Manager of the Community Centre in Ciuciuleni, Hîncești:
“At our Community Centre, we run a social canteen that feeds 65 people in need every day. We’ve been working with the Food Bank for 4 years, since its foundation. Every month we receive various products—vegetables, fruit, grains, dairy—depending on the Food Bank’s donations. These products save a significant part of our limited food budget and often allow us to offer meals with ingredients our beneficiaries would otherwise never be able to afford.”
Veaceslav Ioniță, economic expert, participant in the event:
“Like many other countries, Moldova faces the issue of food waste. This year alone, households will throw away food worth 8 billion MDL—products that could feed a million people suffering from food insecurity. In four years of activity, the Food Bank has brought this sensitive topic into the public space, stressing that talking about waste is not shameful but necessary. Although it currently recovers just 1 kg out of every 700 that are wasted, this figure doesn’t reflect a lack of effort, but rather the true scale of the problem and the need for collective mobilisation to reduce food waste.”
The Food Bank of Moldova is the only nonprofit organisation in the country solely focused on food waste prevention and hunger reduction. Since 2022, the Food Bank has been an associate member of the European Food Banks Federation (FEBA), the European network of food banks.
To learn more about the Food Bank of Moldova, click here.
