Danone Ireland – FoodCloud partnership in its third year of supporting community organisations to turn surplus food into nutritious meals, with expert advice and support
Danone Ireland and FoodCloud have entered the third year of their partnership, supporting community and voluntary organisations around Ireland to turn surplus food into nutritious meals by providing expert nutrition advice, support, and materials.
This collaboration has, since 2023, seen over 486,000 meals, the equivalent of 174,030 tonnes of surplus food redistributed - saving 546 tonnes of CO₂ emissions from going to waste and creating meaningful social and environmental impact in communities around Ireland.
A key element of Danone Ireland’s partnership with FoodCloud is the nutrition education programme, which provides tailored nutritional guidance and recipes to help community groups and organisations turn the surplus food they receive from FoodCloud into healthy, balanced meals for service users. This initiative is the first of its kind in Ireland and continues to evolve to meet the growing needs of the community sector.
The programme has equipped hundreds of community groups with nutritional know-how and resources through the provision of nutritionally balanced recipes and webinars led by Danone’s in-house team of registered dietitians and nutritionists.
FoodCloud supports over 650 community partners around Ireland by connecting them with surplus food from retailers and food producers. This food is used to prepare meals or distribute food parcels to individuals and families, including, for example, those attending breakfast and after-school clubs. Almost all (94%) of the organisations involved have been able to expand their reach and support more people as a direct result of surplus food donations. More than two-thirds (70%) of those organisations can provide food that people could not afford otherwise because of the surplus food donations they receive. These figures demonstrate the growing need for the services that this partnership provides.
Food waste remains a significant and ongoing issue in Ireland. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Ireland generates approximately 750,000 tonnes of food waste annually. This equates to 146kg of food waste per person.
Killian Barry, Managing Director of Danone Ireland, commented: “At Danone, our mission is to bring health through food to as many people as possible. Our partnership with FoodCloud builds on that mission and provides the opportunity to promote healthy nutrition by sharing our in-house knowledge and expertise with charities and community groups nationwide. It also enables us to make a tangible contribution to reducing food waste through volunteering and supporting the redistribution of surplus food.
As one of the first and largest B Corps in Ireland, we’re committed to driving positive change for people and the planet through action. As we proudly continue our partnership with FoodCloud this year, we will also continue to progress our goals - to halve our food waste by 2030, aligning our operations with national waste-reduction efforts and supporting people to access healthier food options”.
Aoibheann O’Brien, Director of Development and Innovation at FoodCloud, said: “We’re delighted to be continuing our partnership with Danone for a third year. Danone’s support helps community organisations make the most of surplus food by providing expert nutritional guidance on how good surplus food can be used to prepare balanced, healthy meals. It’s a practical and meaningful way to support people while also reducing food waste. Danone volunteers provide a really valuable contribution to FoodCloud’s operations too. We’re working together towards a world where no good food goes to waste.”
In 2024, Danone also contributed over 200 volunteer hours to FoodCloud’s work, underscoring its commitment to social impact and community wellbeing. The partnership exemplifies FoodCloud’s “Rescue as Much Food as Possible” strategy, redistributing surplus while adding value through expert nutritional support. Together, Danone and FoodCloud are helping community partners maximise the benefits of the food they receive while building long-term resilience through education and collaboration.
This work also aligns with FoodCloud’s global One Billion Meals campaign, launched in 2024, which aims to redistribute the equivalent of one billion meals by 2030. The campaign is built on three strategic pillars: rescuing as much food as possible in Ireland, scaling FoodCloud’s Foodiverse technology to up to 10 additional countries, and driving systemic change through advocacy and policy.
About FoodCloud
FoodCloud is a tech-based, non-profit, social enterprise (All Ireland Sustainability Awards Winner, 2024). Its vision is a world where no good food goes to waste, and the organisation is tackling the twin issues of food waste and food insecurity to fight climate breakdown and poverty. It does this by redistributing surplus food from the food industry to a network of charity and community partners through its two food redistribution solutions: FoodCloud Hubs coordinate donations and redistribution of larger volumes of surplus food, while Foodiverse, its tech platform that connects food businesses with local community groups to redistribute surplus food.
Across 5 markets, since 2013 and up to the end of Q1 2025, FoodCloud has redistributed more than 358.6 million meals, that’s 150,603 tonnes of surplus food redistributed to over 7,000 charities internationally, saving approximately 444,903 tonnes of CO2-equivalent emissions from going to waste. For more information, please visit: https://food.cloud