Cruise giant Carnival Corporation & plc has marked a major milestone in Latin America with its first surplus meal donation program in the region. The company announced that 210 prepared but unserved meal portions from Carnival Jubilee were donated during a recent visit to Roatán, Honduras.
The meals were provided to the municipality of Roatán, where local partners distributed them to community organizations supporting residents in need. The initiative creates a new pathway for future food donations from Carnival Cruise Line ships calling on the island, further expanding Carnival Corporation’s ongoing efforts to reduce food waste while supporting local communities.
Part of Carnival Corporation’s Less Left Over strategy to reduce food waste, the company’s meal donation program safely redirects high-quality surplus meals to help address food insecurity in port communities where the company’s ships call. With the addition of Roatán, the program has expanded to 18 ports since 2017, providing more than 320,000 meal portions to global communities since its inception, with plans to continue expanding the model into new markets.
“Expanding our surplus meal donation program to Latin America is an important step in our Less Left Over strategy and an example of how collaboration can turn surplus into support for communities,” said Vicky Rey, vice president of government affairs for Latin America, Carnival Corporation. “This work requires clear processes, strong government collaboration and shared commitment, and we are especially grateful to President Asfura for helping facilitate this first donation so quickly, along with the federal and local leaders who helped make it possible.”
“This first donation shows what can happen when the right partners come together with a shared purpose,” said Ron McNab, mayor of Roatán. “Prepared, unserved meals can now safely move from ship to shore to support schools, hospitals and community organizations across Roatán. We are grateful to Carnival Corporation and Carnival Cruise Line for helping to bring this program to life.”
“Surplus meal donation starts with strong food safety standards and close coordination between our shipboard teams and our partners ashore,” said Schalkie Badenhorst, director of food operations, Carnival Cruise Line. “Our team members help make this work possible by identifying high-quality unserved meals remaining after service and ensuring they are handled and transferred ashore in accordance with our food safety requirements.”
The announcement builds on Carnival Corporation’s long-standing presence in Roatán through Isla Tropicale, its cruise destination in Honduras. Isla Tropicale is one of seven exclusive destinations in Latin America and the Caribbean designed for Carnival Corporation guests traveling on one of its eight global cruise lines. Since opening in 2009, the destination has represented a total company investment of $93 million, welcomed close to 9 million visitors and generated approximately $750 million in economic impact. Isla Tropicale supports more than 1,300 local jobs, benefiting vendors, tour operators, transportation providers and others tied to its operations.
Carnival Corporation’s Less Left Over strategy has reduced its per-person food waste by 47% since 2019, avoiding more than $250 million in surplus food costs, while continuing to deliver award-winning dining experiences to its more than 13.5 million guests. The strategy spans dozens of small and large programs, practices and technologies across its world-class cruise lines, designed to cut food waste by 50% by 2030 (vs. 2019).
