Charities would have more money to invest in the people they seek to help if supermarkets donated their unsold food to them, according to Charles Miceli, who founded the voluntary organisation Alliance Against Poverty.

“Organisations often have a daily food budget. If supermarkets helped out and provided them with food, the money left over could be invested in so many productive ways like employing psychologists, social workers or carrying out refurbishment works,” Mr Miceli said.

Last week the voluntary organisation started circulating a petition against food wastage and has, so far, gathered over 1,100 signatures.

The money left over could be invested in so many productive ways

It is calling on the government to consider following in the footsteps of France that has made it illegal for large super­markets to throw food away. Instead, they have to donate any surplus groceries to charities or for animal feed use.

Food waste is a universal problem and in Malta it is estimated to make up more than half of domestic waste. Official statistics say 22 per cent of the food purchased weekly is thrown away. On Friday, Environment Minister Leo Brincat said he was looking into whether supermarkets in Malta could follow the French model.

A supermarket manager, who spoke to this newspaper, said that several supermarkets already helped NGOs by donating certain food such as bread to those who went to pick it up.

He also noted that supermarkets often had agreements with suppliers who collected unsold goods, so any new law would have to take that into account.

It would also have to make sure a realistic structure was in place. For example, supermarkets already invested a lot of money in storing food before it went on the shelves. So it would have to be ensured a safe storage process was in place for unsold food whose cost would not be footed by supermarkets.

Mr Miceli said that when he worked at Caritas he had agreements with several supermarkets, shops and vegetable hawkers on donating unsold food to Caritas-run homes. This, of course, excluded expired goods.

On one occasion a vegetable hawker turned up with several crates of cabbage. The good ones were shared among the homes and the rest given to a farmer next door to feed his animals. The farmer later turned up with a dish of baked pasta for the residents.

“It’s give and take. I believe that when you give, you will receive... Wasting is not a good thing. If something is not good for people, it can go to the animals. If it’s not good for animals, it can be turned into compost,” he said.