GREAT BAY--The FREEGAN Foundation is calling on more supermarkets and wholesalers across St. Maarten to take responsibility for reducing food waste and supporting families in need, questioning how perfectly edible food can be discarded while hundreds of residents struggle to afford basic meals.
The foundation is particularly appealing to major supermarkets, including Carrefour, Fairway and Market Garden, to join an established food rescue initiative that already demonstrates how surplus food can be redirected from potential waste to families who need assistance.
Every month, and in some cases every week, businesses including DIVICO, Lucky's, KAMS, Super LU, NEC and Cost-U-Less donate surplus food to the FREEGAN Foundation. These contributions are collected and redistributed to struggling households through the foundation's food assistance activities.
According to FREEGAN, these partnerships have proven that food rescue is both practical and effective. The foundation alone rescues approximately 2,000 kilograms of surplus food every week, equivalent to an estimated 104,000 kilograms annually, with the cooperation of just a handful of participating businesses.
Despite these efforts, the demand for assistance continues to exceed the foundation's capacity. Its Food Market is currently operating at full capacity, with approximately 100 families on a waiting list for food assistance.
The situation is particularly concerning when viewed against the country's poverty and food insecurity statistics. According to St. Maarten's 2022 Census, 7.1% of residents reported experiencing hunger because they could not afford food. Meanwhile, figures cited by the St. Maarten Development Fund indicate that 25.5% of households live in relative poverty.
For FREEGAN, these figures demonstrate why reducing food waste must become a greater priority for the business community.
Supermarkets and wholesalers regularly encounter surplus products, including items approaching their best-before dates, imperfect fruits and vegetables, and overstocked goods. Many of these products can remain suitable for consumption when properly handled and assessed for food safety.
Rather than allowing usable products to become waste, the foundation believes businesses should make greater use of existing food recovery and redistribution systems.
FREEGAN emphasized that it is not asking businesses to donate products they can still sell. Instead, it is offering to collect surplus food that would otherwise go unused and ensure it reaches people experiencing food insecurity.
The foundation expressed appreciation to DIVICO, Lucky's, KAMS, Super LU, NEC and Cost-U-Less for their continued cooperation, describing their contributions as an example of how corporate social responsibility can produce measurable benefits for the community.
However, FREEGAN believes these efforts should become standard practice across the supermarket and wholesale sectors rather than depend on the participation of a limited number of businesses.
The foundation is therefore publicly inviting Carrefour, Fairway, Market Garden and other supermarkets and wholesalers not currently participating in its food rescue initiative to become partners.
It is also seeking to understand what may be preventing additional businesses from participating, whether logistical challenges, internal company policies or other operational considerations.
FREEGAN maintains that the infrastructure to collect and redistribute surplus food already exists and that the foundation is prepared to work directly with interested businesses to establish practical arrangements.
Beyond expanding food donations, the organization believes the time has come for greater transparency about commercial food waste. It is encouraging supermarkets and wholesalers to begin tracking and publicly reporting the quantities of edible food they discard, helping the community better understand the scale of food waste and the opportunities for improvement.
With approximately 100 families waiting for assistance, FREEGAN stressed that expanding participation could make a meaningful difference to households struggling with the cost of living.
The foundation believes the business community has an opportunity to demonstrate that corporate responsibility extends beyond financial contributions and occasional charitable initiatives. Making surplus food available to people who need it is a practical action that can be incorporated into regular business operations.
FREEGAN's message is clear: Poverty is not a choice. Hunger is not a choice. But allowing perfectly edible food to go to waste when it could feed struggling families is a choice, and one that should no longer be considered acceptable.
