FrieslandCampina Nederland and the Association of Dutch Food Banks to make dairy products available to people living below poverty line

Closer cooperation next step in goal to improve nutritional value of food parcels

Amersfoort, the Netherlands, 04-6-2014 — /EuropaWire/ — Dairy multinational FrieslandCampina Nederland and the Association of Dutch Food Banks announced today that they will be intensifying their partnership. The purpose of the partnership is to make available dairy products to people living below the poverty threshold. FrieslandCampina supplies the food banks with approximately one million dairy products per year. As a partner of the Association of Dutch Food Banks, the dairy cooperative will bear the logistical costs of the operation, enabling better distribution of dairy products to food banks throughout the Netherlands. It will also share its expertise in food safety, quality assurance and healthy nutrition.

Over a million people in the Netherlands live below the poverty threshold. The Association of Dutch Food Banks, to which 149 food banks are affiliated, helps a small proportion of this group through the distribution of food parcels. Over 70% of food bank clients have uncertain access to food, which means they do not always have access to enough food or to a sufficiently healthy or varied diet. These individuals are largely dependent on their weekly food parcel for meeting these dietary needs (Research carried out by VU University Amsterdam, 19 May 2014).

Enhancing nutritional value
Leo Wijnbelt, Chairman of the Association of Dutch Food Banks: ‘The food banks in the Netherlands have for some time now been taking steps to include healthier products in their food parcels. Yesterday, the UN World Food Programme’s World Milk Day initiative again underlined the importance of dairy as part of a balanced diet. Dairy naturally contains key nutrients such as proteins, vitamins B2, B12 and calcium. The continuous supply of dairy products to all the food banks in the Netherlands is therefore an important next step in our existing partnership with FrieslandCampina.’

Contribution to the spread of healthy nutrition
FrieslandCampina Nederland Managing Director Bas van den Berg: ‘Making available dairy products containing important nutrients to broad sections of the population is one of the central aims of our organisation. By meeting the logistical costs of this operation and offering our logistical network, we can ensure that even more of those who unfortunately have to make use of a food bank can be reached than before.’ The food banks give help to some 35,000 families throughout the Netherlands.

FrieslandCampina Nederland and the Association of Dutch Food Banks have agreed to pursue this closer cooperation for the next two years.

Leo Wijnbelt, CEO of the Association of Dutch Food Banks, and Bas van den Berg, Managing Director of FrieslandCampina Nederland, today signed an agreement for a two-year close collaboration at a food bank in Amsterdam. The food banks in the Netherlands are currently taking steps to improve the nutritional value of the food parcels they distribute. The continuous supply of dairy products by FrieslandCampina Nederland will contribute to reaching this goal. As well as supplying dairy products, FrieslandCampina will bear the logistical costs of the operation and make available its logistical network. It will also share its expertise in food safety, quality assurance and healthy nutrition with the Association of Dutch Food Banks.

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