Carnival Corporation’s cruise line is enhancing its initiative to donate unserved, prepared food from its ships.
Initiated by Costa Cruises in 2017, the 4GOODFOOD program is now being broadened. This initiative helps to donate ready-to-eat meals, which were prepared on board but not served, to local food banks.
The cruise line has announced the addition of two new ports—Palma de Mallorca and Valencia—bringing the total to 16 locations benefitting from this program.
To date, over 300,000 meals have been donated in the Caribbean and Mediterranean regions.
Jan Swartz, Carnival Corporation’s executive vice president of strategic operations, commented:
“We strive to offer unforgettable experiences for our guests through exceptional food and dining on our ships.
We are dedicated to doing this in a responsible manner, driven by the commitment and ingenuity of our 160,000 team members who continuously work to minimize food waste while enhancing the guest experience.
“Our aim is to reduce leftover food and ensure that any excess does not go to waste by contributing to communities facing food insecurity.”
Beyond meal donations, the 4GOODFOOD initiative has also involved revising over 500 recipes to streamline meal preparation processes.
Carnival Corporation is looking to extend this program to additional ports in the Caribbean and Latin America.
Earlier this year, the company exceeded its 2025 goal for food waste reduction, utilizing innovative technologies and human creativity to achieve a 42% decrease in food loss and waste from five years ago (in 2019), and is progressing towards a 50% reduction target for 2030.
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