AL-KHOBAR – Dow Saudi Arabia Company, a subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company and the Saudi Food Bank (Eta’am) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the promotion of food waste reduction, food preservation and “healthy eating” in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The two parties will study the feasibility to conduct a pilot educational program at schools in Jubail in the Eastern Province with a view to increasing the awareness of the younger generation on the importance of food waste reduction, food preservation and “healthy eating,” and to promote the use of “healthier products” by homes and restaurants for healthier diets and to reduce obesity.

Charles Swartz, president of Dow Saudi Arabia and Abdullah AlFozan, chairman of Eta’am, signed the MOU witnessed by leaders from the two parties.

“Through Dow’s innovations and the active engagement of our employees and partners, we are addressing many of the world's most challenging problems such as the need for fresh food, energy efficiency and more durable infrastructure. We are pleased to partner with Eta’am to address a major national challenge and we look forward to creating positive impact in promoting food waste reduction, food preservation and healthy eating in the Kingdom,” said Swartz.

“We are delighted to partner with Dow Saudi Arabia on a priority cause that really needs immediate action by all. With this partnership, we are reaching out to the young generation to educate them against food waste, and we will be pushing further on the awareness side in future programs with Dow to promote and enable more healthy food practices,” said AlFozan.

In March, 2017, the two parties organized the first “Walkathon” in KSA to promote food preservation and food waste reduction in the Kingdom. More than 150 volunteers from Dow and Eta’am, government officials and members of the public took part in the event.

Dow has been in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for more than 40 years. It is the largest foreign investor in the Kingdom’s petrochemical sector, with a number of strategic investments including Sadara Chemical Company, a joint venture developed by Dow and Saudi Aramco, which has started up all of its 26 world scale manufacturing units in the Sadara Manufacturing Complex – the world’s largest chemical complex ever built in a single phase – in Jubail. — SG