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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
The mayor of Kraków, Poland’s second-largest city, has appealed to residents to put leftover Christmas food in communal refrigerators, where it can be taken by other people and avoid being wasted.
“Christmas is a time for sharing the wafer, kindness and joy,” Aleksander Miszalski wrote in a post on Facebook. “It is a time of sharing with those in need. In Krakow, we have four municipal ‘Fridges Full of Good’. These are places where we can share food with other residents.”
The communal fridges are located at 10 Sas-Zubrzyckiego Street, 7a Sudolska Street, 20 Szkolne District, and 52 Praska Street.
In addition, Miszalski gave the addresses of six other locations supporting food-sharing: 255 Chełmońskiego Street, 37 Opolska Street, 18 Jabłonkowska Street, 4 Konfederacka Street, 13 Powstańców Wielkopolskich Street and 2 Saska Street.
The mayor reminded residents to leave only food they would be happy to themselves receive, such as fruit and vegetables, bread, cakes, preserves or homemade dishes like soup. Homemade items should be labelled with a description of ingredients and the preparation date.
Items such as raw meat, foods containing raw eggs, spoiled products and alcohol are not permitted.
“Let’s not waste food! Let’s share it with others,” Miszalski said, adding that next year’s municipal budget includes funding for more of the “Fridges Full of Good” to be set up.
The “Fridge Full of Good” programme was launched in Krakow in 2021 in response to the large-scale food waste in Poland. Three fridges were initially installed, with a fourth was added in April this year. They operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Poland discards more than 4.8 million tonnes of food annually, with households accounting for 56% of the total, according to IOŚ-PIB, a state research institute on environmental protection. IOŚ-PIB calculates that the average Polish household wastes 165 kg of food each year.
Research conducted by the institute and published last week highlighted among the most commonly thrown out dishes are home-prepared food as well as bread and other bakery products.
Over 91.4% of respondents in a survey cited “loss of freshness” as one of the main reasons for food waste. Over 85% said buying, preparing or receiving too much food is also a problem.
The institute recommends sharing surplus food with others through charities and local food-sharing organisations. It also suggests freezing leftovers, creating new dishes from them, and clearly marking “best before ” dates.
Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
Main image credit: Krakow.pl
Alicja Ptak is senior editor at Notes from Poland and a multimedia journalist. She previously worked for Reuters.
