The adoption of two key amendments to the Report on the development of a new EU strategy to combat poverty marks a historic step: a shift from viewing food aid as a strictly charitable act to recognising it as a pillar of social stability and a fundamental right, the Romanian Federation of Food Banks (FBAR) has stated.
'The Romanian Federation of Food Banks - FBAR welcomes the recent vote in the European Parliament, which places the work of food banks at the heart of the Union's future social policies. The adoption of two key amendments to the Report on the development of a new EU strategy to combat poverty represents a historic step: moving from the perception of food aid as a purely charitable act to recognising it as a pillar of social stability and a fundamental right,' the organisation said in a press release sent to AGERPRES on Wednesday.
In FBAR's assessment, as preparations advance for the new EU anti-poverty strategy due in May 2026, Members of the European Parliament have delivered a firm political signal by endorsing two core priorities. Foremost among them is the recognition of access to food as a fundamental human right, highlighting the pressing need to support those experiencing economic and social hardship at a time when nearly 9% of Europeans cannot afford a proper meal every other day.
The second direction concerns the need to ensure adequate funding for food banks, acknowledging their vital role in providing material assistance and promoting social inclusion.
'The text stresses that these organisations must have adequate operational capacity' to respond swiftly to food insecurity,' the release emphasises.
According to the cited source, this legislative development in Strasbourg validates the model that the Romanian Federation of Food Banks has long been building. The vote confirms that food banks are not merely mechanisms for redistributing surplus, but structural solutions in the fight against poverty.
'The vote in Strasbourg confirms a reality for which we have tirelessly advocated in Romania: food should not be an uncertainty, but a right. The fact that the European Parliament highlights the need for adequate funding for structures such as ours is a vital signal. Our network has moved beyond the stage of being a simple intermediary; today, we are critical logistics infrastructure for hundreds of vulnerable communities. To continue transforming tonnes of surplus into concrete support and to maintain food safety standards, we need resources, not just moral recognition. We hope this amendment will pave the way for funding mechanisms that ensure our sustainability,' said FBAR President Romuald Bulai.
FBAR stresses that while strategies for 2026 are being discussed at European level, in Romania the need for intervention is immediate. The Food Bank Network (Bucharest, Cluj, Roman, Brasov, Oradea, Timisoara, Constanta, Craiova and Galati) operates as a social safety net. In 2025, food banks redistributed more than 12,000 tonnes of products, of which over 10,000 tonnes were food saved from waste. More than 325,000 vulnerable people were supported through products reaching them via partner associations.
'Logistical costs - transport, storage and the cold chain - represent a constant challenge, which adequate funding, as proposed by the European Parliament, could help to ease,' FBAR underlines.
The Romanian Federation of Food Banks - FBAR and the nine Regional Food Banks in Bucharest, Cluj, Roman, Brasov, Oradea, Timisoara, Constanta, Craiova and Galati form a national solidarity network that rescues food from waste every day and turns it into real support for vulnerable communities.
FBAR is a member of the European Food Banks Federation (FEBA). Since its establishment in 2016 and until the end of 2025, the Food Bank Network has collected over 41,000 tonnes of products, converted into more than 76 million food portions distributed through more than 800 partner NGOs to 325,000 vulnerable people. Of this total, more than 37,000 tonnes were food saved from waste, over 3,000 tonnes were collected through the National Food Collection campaign, and almost 1,400 tonnes were non-food products.
FBAR is the leading organisation in Romania dedicated to rescuing surplus food and donating it to those in need.
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