New app lets Cyprus businesses give away surplus food for free

Economy environmenteuEuropean UnionfoodtechnologyTop Newswaste New app lets Cyprus businesses give away surplus food for free Environment Department Launches Food Waste Reduction Drive Relevant News Erdogan’s accidental gestures of goodwill, that he doesn’t even know about 22 July 2026 New app lets Cyprus businesses give away surplus food for free 22 July 2026 New QR-code quality mark launched for Cyprus farm products 22 July 2026 Newsroom 22 July 2026 FacebookXWhatsAppEmailPrintViber Friends of the Earth Cyprus has launched Food Connect, a digital platform that connects businesses with surplus food to organisations and citizens who can collect it free of charge. The app, developed under the EU-funded LIFE Food Connect – Connecting Food Systems in Southern Europe project, is now available on Android and iPhone. It creates a direct link between businesses with leftover food and the organisations or individuals who can make use of it. Hotels, restaurants, bakeries, supermarkets, producers and other food businesses can list products that will not be used or sold but remain safe and fit for consumption. According to the latest available Eurostat figures, Cyprus generates around 286 kilograms of discarded food per person each year, the highest rate in the European Union. Food waste carries wider costs beyond the food itself, including the water, energy, agricultural land, labour and financial resources used in producing, processing, transporting and storing it, while its disposal adds further environmental strain and greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, households and vulnerable social groups face growing financial pressure and difficulty accessing adequate, quality nutrition, a gap Food Connect is designed to help bridge. Under the system, donors register on the Food Connect platform and log the food available, the quantity, collection time and pickup point. Registered recipients, such as organisations and citizens, are notified through the mobile app of available donations, reserve what they need, and collect it free of charge from the point set by the donor. Friends of the Earth Cyprus says the platform’s innovation lies in creating a single digital space for food donation in Cyprus, replacing a process that has largely relied on phone calls, personal contacts and one-off initiatives with an organised, accessible digital system. The app is designed to build a wider network of cooperation between businesses, public authorities, organisations and citizens, and is already running in Cyprus, Malta and Portugal, with the aim of serving as a model for other European countries. Friends of the Earth Cyprus is calling on businesses with surplus food to register on the platform and begin logging their available donations, while organisations able to make use of food donations are invited to download the app, register as recipients and join the Food Connect community. The app is available for recipients via Google Play and the App Store, while donors continue to register through the Food Connect website. Subscribe to our Newsletter Latest News Erdogan’s accidental gestures of goodwill, that he doesn’t even know about New QR-code quality mark launched for Cyprus farm products Trade union demands overhaul of ‘exploitative’ third-country worker employment strategy Cyprus power system pushed to its limits as two units go offline Photo of the day: Heatwave hits Los Angeles County Limassol-Paphos highway shut near Paramali after crash involving roadworks vehicle Why Burnout is not a Weakness Follow en.philenews on Google News and be the first to know all the news about Cyprus and the world.