Czech Supermarkets Required To Give All Unsold Food To Charity
A Czech law mandating that a portion of unsold food goods be donated to food banks had come under fire since being adopted in 2016, but the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic upheld the amendment on 2 January 2019.
In 2017, according to the Czech Federation of Food Banks, 1900 tons of unused food, were collected. Now, the amount of donated food could increase up to five times.
Now the managers of supermarkets with a footprint of 400 sq meters or more will have to sign donation contracts with charities or face a penalty.
According to the Czech Federation of Food Banks, the law has strengthened cooperation between retailers and food banks. Since the beginning of 2018, the amount of donations to food banks has tripled.
In Europe, a similar practice is already in place in Italy or France. A law passed last year in the Italian Senate helped the country recover 1m tonnes of food a year for the needy, according to the law’s chief sponsor, and came six months after a similar bill was passed in France.
To read the original articles on the subject, visit Expats.cz and Prague Morning.