Category: Press release

In 2025, Foodsharing Luxembourg continued and strengthened its commitment to fighting food waste thanks to an increasingly active community. Today, the non-profit organization has 306 volunteer Foodsavers, united by a common mission: to save food that is still perfectly edible but destined to be thrown away

Many people are unaware that most products carry a ‘best before’ date, which indicates quality rather than safety. In many cases, food can still be consumed well beyond this date without any health risk. Yet nearly 30% of  food produced is still thrown away. It was in response to this situation that Foodsharing Luxembourg was created, with the aim of preserving the planet’s resources and taking concrete action against climate change by reducing food waste.

To carry out this initiative, Foodsharing now collaborates with 62 cooperations and partner stores across the country in the Foodsaving project. These partners share unsold food that is still edible, which is then collected by volunteer members. We are proud to work with partners that understand the significant impact of food waste on our climate, environment, and society. The quantities saved vary greatly: they can range from small collections of 2 kg to more than 20 kg in a single collection from a large retailer.

Saved food can also be dropped off at one of the country’s 3 official Foodsharing Points, which are accessible to everyone free of charge, in accordance with strict hygiene rules. These points are located in Differdange, Esch-sur-Alzette, and Lintgen, and allow food to be made available for free, with no conditions attached.

Foodsharing Luxembourg relies entirely on volunteers. Each member gives their time and energy to keep this solidarity network alive. The results alone in the Foodsaving project speak for themselves:

👉 In 2025, nearly 164.400 kg of food was saved across Luxembourg.  

👉 Since 2019, Foodsharing Luxembourg has rescued more than one million kilograms of edible food. At an average of 50 kg per supermarket trolley, that represents a 20-kilometre line of fully loaded trolleys.

Beyond its daily rescue efforts, the non-profit organization also works to change the legislative framework in Luxembourg. Foodsharing advocates in particular for:

• a mandatory discount of at least 30% on products approaching their best before date or expiry/use-by date in the next 3 days,
• the sale at reduced prices of “ugly” fruit and vegetables that are perfectly edible,
• the obligation for businesses to donate food that is still edible,
• and greater awareness of anti-waste food practices at the national level.

We can all make a difference by changing a few everyday habits to reduce food waste. And if you’d like to take action even further, Foodsharing Luxembourg is always open to welcoming new motivated members.

You can also take part in one of the free zero-waste meals organized every month by Foodsharing members. The next one will take place on Sunday, January 25 at La Mesa – Maison de la transition in Esch-sur-Alzette.We would like to thank all the volunteers, active foodsavers, and partners for their commitment, motivation, and essential contribution to the fight against food waste in Luxembourg.

Luxembourg, 29th September 2025

Today marks the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste, a moment to reflect on one of the most pressing social and environmental challenges of our time.

Food loss and waste occur when perfectly edible food is discarded along the supply chain – from farms to supermarkets to households – instead of being consumed. This results not only in a waste of valuable resources such as water, labour, energy, and land, but also contributes significantly to climate change.

Globally, one third of all food produced is never consumed. In Luxembourg, the food loss and waste represent 122 kilograms per person per year. According to Eurostat (2022):

• 65 kg come from households,
• 18 kg from manufacturing,
• 15 kg from restaurants and services,
• 13 kg from retail and distribution,
• 12 kg from primary production.

Private households are in fact responsible for 53 % of food waste in Luxembourg.

On this occasion, Transition Minett and Foodsharing Luxembourg, two Luxembourg-based associations active in the fight against food loss and waste, would like to encourage collective action across society – from citizens to businesses to institutions. We believe that a national framework could help strengthen these efforts and ensure Luxembourg is aligned with international commitments, while paving the way for a sustainable and fair food system. Luxembourg aims to divide by two food waste by 2030 according to the website of Antigaspi, both in shops and restaurants and by consumers, but it still lacks a clear strategy on how to reach this goal.The website Antigaspi offers practical tips on how to reduce food waste at home: https://antigaspi.lu/rotschlei/

Luxembourg, 12th March 2025

On 19 February 2025, the European Union reached a provisional agreement on the first binding targets to reduce food waste in the history of the EU and globally. These envisage a reduction of 10% in manufacturing and by 30% in retail, restaurants and households by 2030. But these targets are incompatible with Sustainable Development Goal 12.3, which is to halve food waste by 2030. Foodsharing Luxembourg calls for Luxembourg to go beyond these minimum requirements and take a pioneering role in the fight against food loss and waste.

The urgency of action is undisputed: Representatives of all political parties and experts agreed even before the last national elections that more must be done. This was evident at our panel discussion on 28 September 2023, where experts such as Dr. Rachel Reckinger (University of Luxembourg), Estelle Flammang (on.perfekt) and Svenja Zelder (IBLA) discussed concrete solutions together with political representatives. In addition, the national strategy for adapting to the consequences of climate change, presented by the Ministry of the Environment, Climate and Biodiversity on 7 February 2025, includes 131 measures, including the reduction of food waste. Now it is important to follow up these words with decisive action.

Foodsharing Luxembourg presents 10 concrete measures aimed directly at advising the government, in order to significantly reduce food waste along the entire value chain through its own legislative text. This list of demands is supported by the organisations Etika, Frères des Hommes, Foodsharing Akademie by foodsharing e.V., microtarians, Greenpeace Luxembourg, the platform Meng Landwirtschaft and Transition Minett. “The proposed EU requirements are not enough. Luxembourg has the opportunity to lead the way and set ambitious national targets to reduce food loss and waste and to take effective concrete measures,” says Daniel Waxweiler, European Climate Pact Ambassador and member of Foodsharing Luxembourg.

Link to political demands: https://www.foodsharing.lu/political-demands/

Foodsharing Luxembourg calls on the national government to finally introduce a law with decisive measures against food loss and waste. Tackling food loss and waste is not only a sustainability imperative, but also an effective measure to curb global warming and conserve resources. The time to act is now.

In the second half of 2024, Foodsharing Luxembourg proudly celebrated its 5th anniversary, marking a significant milestone in the mission of the association to reduce food loss and waste. What began as a small group of friends meeting in December 2018 to brainstorm ideas has now grown into a vibrant, volunteer-driven movement with 825 members.

Founded in August 2019 with just seven members, the association quickly gained traction and established itself as a key player in the fight against food loss and waste in Luxembourg. Since its inception, Foodsharing Luxembourg has successfully implemented various initiatives, including the highly effective Foodsaving and Foodsharing Points projects. These initiatives have proven to be a success, despite initial skepticism and challenges, helping to redistribute more than 923 tonnes of food.

“We are incredibly grateful to all our active members, as well as the brilliant shops, partners, and funders who have supported us over the past five years,” said Daniel Waxweiler, co-founder. “Our growth and success would not have been possible without their dedication and commitment to our mission.”

To mark the occasion, Foodsharing Luxembourg hosted a celebration event in September 2024 at Batiment IV in Esch-Alzette, where members gathered to celebrate the milestone. The event featured workshops, lively discussions, music, and, of course, cooking with food leftovers – all reflecting the core values of sustainability and community that have defined the organisation since its founding.

The future: a national strategy against food waste

According to Eurostat 147 kg of food is wasted per person per year in Luxembourg [1]. Foodsharing Luxembourg believes that our responsibility to combat food waste extends beyond just reducing immediate waste – it’s about preserving resources for future generations.

As the organisation looks ahead, Foodsharing Luxembourg continues to push for greater change on a national level. “While we’re proud of our achievements, we remain committed to advocating for a national strategy and legislation against food loss and waste,” said Hannah Proffitt-Perchard, Communication circle Representative. “Our biggest wish for our 5th anniversary is to see the government take more decisive action in addressing food loss and waste, which remains a significant issue both locally and globally.”

Minimise food waste during the holiday season

The end-of-year celebrations often bring large quantities of food, whether at family gatherings, company parties, or festive events. To help reduce waste, plan ahead by having plenty of containers on hand to store leftovers. Encourage guests to take some home, ensuring that nothing goes to waste. Small actions like this can make a big difference in minimising food waste during the holiday season.

[1] https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/en/web/products-eurostat-news/-/ddn-20220925-2

According to the ILRES survey on food waste in Luxembourg of September 2022 [1], a large part of the population has the desire to waste less food. The only thing is that people often do not know how to achieve this. Foodsharing Luxembourg and the Foodsharing Akademie are offering free interactive workshops on the weekend of 19 and 20 August at the “Kolla x Mersch” festival in Merscher Park.

With various activities on the topic of food appreciation and food rescue, the food rescuers want to reach a broad audience there. On Saturday, there will be an introduction to the global context of food waste, an information event by Foodsharing Luxembourg and a film screening of “Taste the Waste” followed by a discussion. On Sunday, the day will start with a snipping disco. Everyone can join in and chop vegetables and fruit, which will be prepared on site and offered to everyone. In between, you can watch a juggler and learn to juggle yourself. This will be followed by a workshop on racism issues in the context of food rescue initiatives and another info session by Foodsharing Luxembourg.

You can find the exact programme with names of speakers, times and languages on our project page: https://www.foodsharing-akademie.org/barcamp-festival/

Around one third of all food produced worldwide is not consumed [2]. The resources it contains, such as labour hours, water, transport, etc., are thus equally wasted. This has devastating effects on the environment and the climate. According to a March 2023 study from the journal Nature Food, food loss and waste was responsible for 9.3 gigatonnes of CO2e in 2017 [3]. This corresponds to almost one third of the total global CO2 emissions in that year and almost the CO2 emissions of the USA and the EU together! For this reason, among others, it is also the declared goal of the United Nations to halve food waste and loss worldwide by 2030.

The latest figures from Eurostat on the problem in Luxembourg speak of an average of 147 kg of wasted food per person per year [4]. Two thirds of this occurs at home. Luxembourg is thus clearly above the already high EU average of 127 kg. There are effective solutions along the value chain, many of which could be implemented relatively easily by politicians, businesses and private households.

Foodsharing Luxembourg is a non-governmental organisation (a.s.b.l.) composed of over 700 volunteer members. The vision is that all edible food in Luxembourg is consumed. The volunteers fight food loss and waste by supporting the rapid exchange of food that would otherwise be thrown away. By raising awareness of this issue and its impact on the climate, the environment and society, and by driving systematic change, Foodsharing Luxembourg aims to drastically reduce waste.

The project partner Foodsharing Akademie aims to raise awareness on the topic of food waste through various educational offers and materials and to inform about global contexts and impacts. Learners are made aware of their own possibilities for action and motivated to take their own actions in order to achieve the desired multiplication effect.

On the same weekend, an international barcamp of the foodsharing movement will take place at the SNJ centre in Marienthal, focusing on better cross-border networking and learning from each other. Participants from Belgium, Germany, Great Britain, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Austria will be there and later in the day also at the festival in Mersch.

Both events are supported by the Erasmus Plus programme of the European Union and the Œuvre Nationale de Secours Grande-Duchesse Charlotte.

For further information, please contact Foodsharing Luxembourg.

[1] ILRES survey, September 2022: https://antigaspi.lu/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Ilres_Le-gaspillage-alimentaire_sept-2022.pdf
[2] United Nations on food loss and waste: https://www.un.org/en/observances/end-food-waste-day
[3] Cradle-to-grave emissions from food loss and waste represent half of total greenhouse gas emissions from food systems: https://www.nature.com/articles/s43016-023-00710-3.epdf
[4] Figures on food loss and waste in the EU from 2020 published by Eurostat, 2022: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/en/web/products-eurostat-news/-/ddn-20220925-2

Press Release Foodsharing Luxembourg, 21st March 2023

On the occasion of this year’s national elections and the urgent nature of the climate crisis, Foodsharing Luxembourg a.s.b.l. publishes demands on Luxembourg’s policy to combat food loss and waste.

“Around a third of all food produced worldwide is not eaten! [1]” says Michelle Kleyr, co-founder of Foodsharing Luxembourg, “The resources it contains, such as working hours, water, transport, etc., are also wasted.” This has devastating effects on the environment and climate. Daniel Waxweiler, co-founder of the association, explains: “According to the IPCC report of 2019, between 2010 and 2016 alone, food loss and waste were responsible for 8 to 10% of all greenhouse gas emissions.”

Michelle Kleyr points to the striking national situation: “In Luxembourg, according to the latest Eurostat figures, this corresponds to an average of 147 kg per person per year.[2] Two-thirds of these are generated at home, well above the already high EU average of 127 kg.” There are effective solutions along the value chain, many of which could be implemented relatively easily by politicians. Other EU countries, such as France, Italy, Romania, Spain and the Czech Republic, have already introduced legal measures against this. Daniel Waxweiler emphasises: “We urgently need an improved legal situation against food loss and waste in Luxembourg!”

Our 9 demands were published on our website in February and sent to environment and agriculture ministries as well as to all parties.

• Demands in English
• Demands in French
• Demands in German (PDF)

Several Luxembourg organisations have already expressed their public support for our demands. The list is constantly updated on our website.

[1] United Nations on food loss and waste: https://www.un.org/en/observances/end-food-waste-day
[2] IPCC Special Report on Climate Change and Land, August 2019, Chapter 5: https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/sites/4/2019/11/08_Chapter-5.pdf 
[3] EU food loss and waste figures 2020 published by Eurostat, 2022: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/en/web/products-eurostat-news/-/ddn-20220925-2