Where to donate food after Christmas? Christmas zero waste solutions

Approximately 4.5 million tonnes of food are wasted in Poland each year, and as much as 60% of this is wasted in households. Why? The most common reasons declared by respondents for throwing food away are:

• expiry date - 60%,
• shopping too much - 26%,
• improper storage - 26%,
• purchase of unpalatable products - 25%,
• purchase of poor quality products - 17%,
• excessive meal portions - 18%,
• no idea how to use the products - 10%[i].

The amount of food thrown away increases dramatically over the Christmas and New Year period. It is estimated that as many as 83% people throw away food during this time. The 24th of December has even been unofficially dubbed Christmas Food Waste Day - in Poland alone, as much as 9,200 tonnes of food ends up in bins on that day[ii].! Can this be remedied?

For environmental reasons, we encourage, above all, moderation, which is one of the most important components of the our recipe for Christmas peace. We assume, however, that since you have arrived here, you have just you are struggling to manage your food after Christmas and you are looking for the best solution for you and nature.

The remedy for most of these problems is foodsharing. The movement encourages donating surplus food to people who are happy to accept it and literally save it from going to waste. There is only one condition - the food must still be fit for consumption.

One way to do festive foodsharing is to use food pantries, also known as community fridges. Dining halls are communal fridges, cupboards and sometimes small rooms that allow food to be exchanged. Not only can you leave fresh produce or dishes in them, but you can also take what others have left on the shelves.

What to donate to the eatery? Only food that we would eat ourselves. Importantly, it may be past its best-before date - dry and loose products, tinned foods, condiments and sometimes even properly stored dairy products are often fit for consumption after the date indicated on the packaging. Donating food to an eatery However, it is worth following a few rules:

• products should be placed in clean packaging and sealed tightly,
• a note should be placed on the home-cooked dishes with their composition and date of preparation,
• products can be left previously opened, but the date of opening should be indicated (mainly for food that spoils quickly),
• if a dish needs to be stored at a low temperature, it absolutely must be placed in the fridge!

Against the odds, Eateries are not the domain of large cities - you'll find them in small towns too!

See the nationwide map of eateries

Go to the map of eateries in Warsaw

Don't see your location here? Try searching for it on an online search engine, for example - the network of eateries is constantly expanding, so there may be outlets in your area that are not yet marked on the map.

Eateries aren't the only places you can donate food to after Christmas (and not just after Christmas). See where else you can share your food!

• Food Banks

These are charitable institutions that accept any type of food and then distribute it to those in need. All food products (including non-perishable products, e.g. bread, dairy products, meat, fruit and vegetables) can be donated to such a bank at least 2 days before the expiry date. There are 31 such banks in Poland. View map of Food Banks.

• Facebook groups and local forums

Food sharing is also enabled by social media and local groups, which you will find under names such as:

• Online dining, foodsharing, freeganism,
• I will donate, attention, the rubbish truck is coming (or simply: rubbish truck),
• we do not waste food.

• Branches of Caritas Polska

Caritas has long been active in helping those in need while at the same time tackling food waste. Local Caritas branches often accept unwanted food that is left over in the fridge after Christmas or an event, for example. It is worth contacting your nearest Caritas branch and donating the food to them, which will then be distributed to those in need.

• Facilities for people in crisis of homelessness

Surplus food from the holidays is also readily accepted by night shelters and shelters for people in crisis of homelessness. You can find a list of all such establishments by voivodeship on the website of the Ministry of Family Affairs, Labour and Social Policy.

Sometimes food has to be thrown away - it's spoiled, over-salted, burnt, there can be many reasons. However, it is worth doing this with your head. Properly sorted waste from the table, fridge or kitchen cupboard can still be recycled organically, i.e. composted or fermentation.

Where to throw food away? Most food is disposed of in the brown bin for bio-waste. This is where unwanted, spoiled or out-of-date food should go, but with some exceptions. Leftover meat, sausages and bones are mixed wasteas are eggs, cheese and other animal products. Mixed meals containing animal products, e.g. salads or sauces, are also not bio-waste. Check what we throw away and what we don't throw away in bio-waste.

An alternative to the bio-waste bag is the composter: domestic, kitchen or electric. It allows you to turn bio-waste into natural and completely free plant fertiliser, which can be produced in as little as 24 hours! Such opportunities include Oklin composter from the Smart range.

[i] Zero recycling point in Poland, https://portalkomunalny.pl/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/raport-punkt-zero-recyklingu-w-polsce.pdf

[ii]. Christmas, festivities and... into the bin. We throw away 1.6 kg of Christmas food per person, https://www.rp.pl/przemysl-spozywczy/art41538111-swieta-swieta-i-do-kosza-wyrzucamy-1-6-kg-swiatecznego-jedzenia-na-osobe