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Hi Dubai
09-04-2025
- General
- Hi Dubai
ne'ma's Ramadan Campaign Rescues 250,000kg of Food, Drives UAE's Vision for Zero Waste
The national food loss and waste reduction initiative, ne'ma, has successfully concluded its impactful Ramadan 2025 campaign, Valuing the Blessing, reaffirming the UAE's commitment to halving food waste by 2030. Partnering with government bodies, private sector entities, and more than 1,300 volunteers, ne'ma led a countrywide effort to rescue high-quality surplus food and redistribute it to those in need. The campaign's flagship initiatives—Family Iftar Box, Community Fridges, and One Million Surplus Meals—combined generosity with sustainability, significantly reducing edible food waste during the holy month. The Family Iftar Box programme alone rescued 250,000kg of surplus food and delivered weekly boxes to over 8,800 low-income families across six emirates. The initiative also averted approximately 630,000kg of CO₂ emissions and converted 4,000kg of inedible waste into compost for local agriculture. Meanwhile, the Community Fridges programme reused over 26,000 untouched Iftar meals—equivalent to 10,400kg of food—preventing an additional 26,500kg of CO₂ emissions, with support from 37 hotels and hospitality partners in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Khuloud Hassan Al Nuwais, Chief Sustainability Officer at Emirates Foundation, credited the programme's success to strong cross-sector collaboration, calling for year-round commitment to food rescue. 'This Ramadan has shown what's possible through unity,' she said, 'but lasting impact comes when these values become everyday practices.' Backed by over 23 partners and thousands of volunteer hours, ne'ma 's efforts not only brought relief to vulnerable communities but also advanced the UAE's broader sustainability agenda—proving that mindful consumption and community action can go hand-in-hand. News Source: Emirates News Agency
Gulf Today
07-03-2025
- Business
- Gulf Today
ne'ma extends ‘Valuing Our Roots' Campaign in Ramadan
ne'ma, the UAE National Food Loss and Waste Initiative, has extended its 2025 Ramadan campaign, Valuing Our Roots, reinforcing the importance of responsible consumption, sustainability, and community-driven action during the Holy Month of Ramdan. ne'ma's campaign calls on individuals, families, and businesses to make intentional choices when shopping, cooking, sharing, and preparing for large gatherings. This approach upholds the values of reflection, gratitude, and balance while promoting the mindful use of resources during Ramadan. Through community-driven initiatives, the campaign highlights food rescue, redistribution, and waste reduction, aligning with the UAE's goal to cut food loss and waste by 50 per cent by 2030. ne'ma continues to collaborate with key partners across the food ecosystem to promote mindfulness, ensuring surplus food is rescued and redistributed effectively. A key campaign initiative is ne'ma's sponsorship of the One Million Surplus Meals, a large-scale effort to recover and distribute untouched surplus food in collaboration with the UAE Food Bank and Reloop, and involving hotels, restaurants, and catering services companies (HORECA). The initiative also incorporates food waste recycling, with inedible food waste collected for composting, supporting a circular economy approach. The programme will engage more than 75 hotels across Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Ras Al Khaimah, with structured data collection to measure its impact on food waste reduction. During Ramadan, ne'ma is also scaling up Community Smart Fridges, working with the HORECA sector and tech startups, to place fridges in high-demand areas, ensuring surplus food is safely redistributed. The fridges will be stocked with freshly prepared meals and available in several locations across Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The initiative includes training for kitchen and hospitality staff on standardised meal packaging, and a structured collection and distribution system to ensure efficiency and safety. The ne'ma Family Iftar Box programme, in partnership with Takatof, focuses on rescuing surplus food from food distributors, retailers, and farmers. Volunteers will pack and distribute these food boxes across Abu Dhabi, Al Dhafra, Al Ain, Sharjah, and Ras Al Khaimah, ensuring that high-quality surplus food reaches families in need instead of going to waste. Khuloud Hassan Al Nuwais, Chief Sustainability Officer of the Emirates Foundation, and ne'ma's Committee Secretary-General, said, 'Ramadan is a time of generosity, gratitude, and shared responsibility. With Valuing Our Roots, we are taking real action to rescue food, reduce waste, and ensure that resources are used responsibly. By making mindful choices-when we shop, cook, share, and celebrate-we can honor our traditions while also protecting our future. Through collective action, we can move closer to becoming a nation where no food is wasted.' The new initiative builds on the success of the 'Count Your ne'ma' (Count Your Blessings), campaign launched last year, which adopted a practical approach to saving food and redistributing it, in addition to ongoing efforts to reduce waste. By integrating data-driven strategies, expanding partnerships, and engaging volunteers, the 'Valuing Our Roots' campaign aims to create long-term behavioural change and further strengthen the UAE's leadership in food sustainability. The campaign also represents a unified effort to prevent food from reaching landfills during Ramadan and beyond. In line with the UAE's Year of Community, the campaign builds on last year's Count Your Blessings initiative by taking an action-oriented approach to food rescue, redistribution, and waste reduction efforts. Earlier, His Highness Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Presidential Court, received the team behind the 'ne'ma' initiative, which aims to reduce food loss and waste while promoting sustainable food consumption in the country. During the meeting at Qasr Al Watan, His Highness Sheikh Mansour listened to a detailed explanation from the team about the initiative's objectives and key areas of focus, including data analysis, measuring food loss and waste, community awareness, driving behavioural change and policy development.
Zawya
05-03-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Ne'ma extends 'Valuing Our Roots' campaign in Ramadan
Abu Dhabi, UAE - ne'ma, the UAE National Food Loss and Waste Initiative, has extended its 2025 Ramadan campaign, Valuing Our Roots, reinforcing the importance of responsible consumption, sustainability, and community-driven action during the holy month of Ramdan. ne'ma's campaign calls on individuals, families, and businesses to make intentional choices when shopping, cooking, sharing, and preparing for large gatherings. By doing so, we honor the enduring traditions of reflection, gratitude, balance, and making mindful use of resources during Ramadan. Through community-driven initiatives, the campaign emphasizes food rescue, redistribution, and waste reduction, supporting the UAE's goal to reduce food loss and waste by 50 percent by 2030. ne'ma continues to collaborate with key partners across the food ecosystem to promote mindfulness, ensuring surplus food is rescued and redistributed effectively. A key campaign initiative is ne'ma's sponsorship of the One Million Surplus Meals, a large-scale effort to recover and distribute untouched surplus food in collaboration with the UAE Food Bank and Reloop, and involving hotels, restaurants, and catering services companies (HORECA). The initiative also incorporates food waste recycling, with inedible food waste collected for composting, supporting a circular economy approach. The program will engage more than 75 hotels across Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Ras Al Khaimah, with structured data collection to measure its impact on food waste reduction. During Ramadan, ne'ma is also scaling up Community Smart Fridges, working with the HORECA sector and tech startups, to place fridges in high-demand areas, ensuring surplus food is safely redistributed. The fridges will be stocked with freshly prepared meals and available in several locations across Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The initiative includes training for kitchen and hospitality staff on standardized meal packaging, and a structured collection and distribution system to ensure efficiency and safety. The ne'ma Family Iftar Box program, in partnership with Takatof, focuses on rescuing surplus food from food distributors, retailers, and farmers. Volunteers will pack and distribute these food boxes across Abu Dhabi, Al Dhafra, Al Ain, Sharjah, and Ras Al Khaimah, ensuring that high-quality surplus food reaches families in need instead of going to waste. Each box will contain fresh produce, staple grains, protein sources, canned goods, and other essential items. This initiative also offers a meaningful corporate social responsibility (CSR) opportunity, allowing businesses to participate through food donations, sponsorships, and corporate volunteering. Khuloud Hassan Al Nuwais, Chief Sustainability Officer of the Emirates Foundation, and ne'ma's Committee Secretary General, said: "Ramadan is a time of generosity, gratitude, and shared responsibility. With Valuing Our Roots, we are taking real action to rescue food, reduce waste, and ensure that resources are used responsibly. By making mindful choices—when we shop, cook, share, and celebrate—we can honor our traditions while also protecting our future. Through collective action, we can move closer to becoming a nation where no food is wasted." The new initiative builds on the success of the "Count Your ne'ma" (Count Your Blessings), campaign launched last year, which adopted a practical approach to saving food and redistributing it, in addition to ongoing efforts to reduce waste. By integrating data-driven strategies, expanding partnerships, and engaging volunteers, the "Valuing Our Roots" campaign aims to create long-term behavioral change and further strengthen the UAE's leadership in food sustainability. The campaign also represents a unified effort to prevent food from reaching landfills during Ramadan and beyond. In line with the UAE's Year of Community, the campaign builds on last year's Count Your Blessings initiative by taking an action-oriented approach to food rescue, redistribution, and waste reduction efforts. By integrating data-driven strategies, expanding partnerships, and mobilizing volunteers, Valuing Our Roots aims to create long-term behavioral change and strengthen the UAE's leadership in food sustainability. The campaign represents a united effort to work toward a Zero Food Waste to Landfill goal during Ramadan and beyond. About ne'ma ne'ma – the National Food Loss and Waste Initiative, is a response to the call to action by the President of the United Arab Emirates, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to reduce food waste, encourage individual and social responsibility, and promote sustainable practices across the food value chain. Established in 2022, ne'ma aims to address overproduction and overconsumption and build new standards that can contribute to the reduction of food loss and food waste, reconnecting with the country's deep-rooted traditional values of social responsibility and mindful stewardship of national resources.
Hi Dubai
05-03-2025
- Business
- Hi Dubai
ne'ma Extends 'Valuing Our Roots' Campaign in Ramadan
ne'ma, the UAE's National Food Loss and Waste Initiative, has announced the extension of its 2025 Ramadan campaign, "Valuing Our Roots." The initiative aims to encourage responsible consumption, sustainability, and community-driven action throughout the Holy Month of Ramadan. The campaign calls on individuals, families, and businesses to make intentional choices in shopping, cooking, and preparing for large gatherings, reflecting the values of gratitude and balance. Its core objective is to reduce food waste, aligning with the UAE's goal of cutting food loss and waste by 50% by 2030. A key initiative within the campaign is ne'ma's sponsorship of the "One Million Surplus Meals" project. This large-scale effort works in collaboration with the UAE Food Bank and Reloop, alongside hotels, restaurants, and catering services, to recover and redistribute surplus food. The program also involves food waste recycling, with inedible waste composted to support a circular economy. The initiative will see over 75 hotels across Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Ras Al Khaimah participating, with data collection to track its impact on food waste reduction. ne'ma is also scaling up its Community Smart Fridges program, in partnership with the HORECA sector and tech startups, to redistribute surplus food in high-demand areas. In addition, the ne'ma Family Iftar Box program, in collaboration with Takatof, will ensure rescued surplus food reaches families in need across various regions. Khuloud Hassan Al Nuwais, Chief Sustainability Officer of the Emirates Foundation, emphasized the collective responsibility during Ramadan, stating, "Through mindful choices and collective action, we can move closer to becoming a nation where no food is wasted." The campaign builds on the success of last year's "Count Your Blessings" initiative and aims to create lasting behavioral change in food sustainability. News Source: Emirates News Agency
