Doha, Qatar: A nationwide drive to reduce food waste and promote sustainable consumption is gaining momentum across Qatar, as ministries, research institutions and social organizations intensify coordination under the umbrella of the Qatar National Food Security Strategy 2030.
The Hifz Al Naema initiative reflects the country’s commitment to building a resilient and sustainable food system that minimizes loss and waste, while ensuring that surplus resources are redirected to those in need.
The partnership between the public sector, academic institutions and private stakeholders underscores the State’s determination to achieve the objectives of the national food security strategy by enhancing efficiency, improving resource management and encouraging responsible consumption patterns.
A key partner in the nationwide campaign is Hifz Al Naema Center, a community-based awareness and food recovery center established in 2008. The center plays a pivotal role in collecting surplus food from restaurants, banquets and events, ensuring it meets the highest food safety standards, and redistributing it to eligible beneficiaries, including low-income families and workers.
During the holy month of Ramadan, the center intensified its efforts to curb food waste and promote social solidarity. It distributed thousands of Iftar meals daily and preserved and redistributed surplus food to families in need and laborers. The center implemented its “Iftar for a Fasting Person” project across several locations, including industrial areas and Muither, to ensure daily meal provision.
Surplus meals collected from gatherings and restaurants were carefully prepared and distributed.
In partnership with the General Directorate of Endowments at the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, the center also contributed to the “Basket of Giving” initiative, which provided integrated food baskets to more than 2,000 underprivileged families during Ramadan, with support from the Endowment Bank for Righteousness and Piety.
Figures from 2025 highlight the center’s growing impact. A total of 280,197 meals were provided during the year, benefiting 333,088 individuals. In addition to food redistribution, the center conducts awareness campaigns promoting rational consumption, discouraging extravagance and waste, encouraging environmental protection through recycling, and fostering a culture of giving and humanitarian solidarity within Qatari society.
Through coordinated national projects, research partnerships and grassroots community engagement, Qatar continues to strengthen its food security framework—ensuring that surplus food is not discarded, but transformed into a source of dignity, sustainability and social cohesion.
As part of the broader food security framework, the initiatives bring together public and private sector entities, charitable institutions and research bodies to ensure an integrated response. This multi-stakeholder approach aims to reduce food loss percentages, enhance sustainability of resources and strengthen resilience against future supply challenges, in line with the objectives of the Qatar National Food Security Strategy 2030.
Hifz Al Naema Center continues to expand its outreach as a social awareness hub dedicated to rationalizing consumption and preventing extravagance. The center works to instil a culture of moderation and responsibility within the community, encouraging individuals and institutions alike to avoid waste and to channel surplus food and resources toward charitable causes. It also focuses on recycling usable surplus items to protect the environment and maximize community benefit.
