site.btaBulgarian Food Bank Marks 14 Years with Strong Results and Urgent Need for More Warehousing Space

On January 31, 2026, the Bulgarian Food Bank - the only organization providing food banking services in the country - will mark its 14th anniversary. Despite strong results to date, the organization is faced with the problem of insufficient warehousing space that threatens its daily operations.

In 2025, the Food Bank supported 87,941 people and, in partnership with 338 organizations, programmes, and social services nationwide, distributed 482,568 kg of food - the highest annual results in its history. Over the year, the organization expanded its team, added 58 new partner organizations, and distributed more than 50 additional  tonnes of food compared to the previous record year of 2024, reaching over 5,000 more people in need.

This progress was recognized through the successful completion of an audit by the Global FoodBanking Network (GFN) in early November 2025, reaffirming the bank’s membership in both GFN and the European Federation of Food Banks (FEBA).

New records were also set in the Food Bank’s A Kilogram of Kindness donation campaign. With the support of 250 volunteers and in partnership with the Fantastico supermarket chain, more than 26 t of non-perishable food were collected during the last weekend of November and are already being distributed across the country.

January 2026 also saw record activity: by January 25, more than 49,400 kg of food had been donated. However, the lack of a larger warehouse in Sofia remains a serious challenge, limiting the organization’s capacity to receive and store donated food and putting future donations at risk.

In total, 486,110 kg of donated food entered the Food Bank’s warehouses in 2025 - an increase of 55 t compared to 2024. The organization is seeking support from Sofia Municipality to secure a new, larger central warehouse, but despite two years of discussions, no concrete results have yet been achieved. There is also an urgent need to establish additional regional warehouses across the country.

In 2026, the Bulgarian Food Bank remains committed to supporting the most vulnerable. Currently, one in two Bulgarians over 65 lacks adequate nutrition, and one in three children does not eat regularly, increasing the risk of school dropout. In 2025, the Food Bank provided food assistance to 23,686 people over 65 and 33,952 children and young people.

Founded in 2012, the Bulgarian Food Bank accepts, stores, and distributes surplus, safe-to-eat food free of charge to people at risk of poverty. Through its advocacy efforts, donated food has been VAT-exempt since 2017, and since mid-2022 all administrative barriers to food donation have been removed, encouraging companies to donate surplus food rather than destroy it.