New interactive map tracks affordable Amsterdam meals

A new online platform called Get a Plate maps free and affordable dining options across Amsterdam, including neighbourhood kitchens, cheap restaurants and food distribution points.

Users can filter the map by meal type, whether breakfast, lunch or dinner, and select preferences such as walk-in access, takeaway food packages, rescued ingredients or social community meals.

Bridging the gap in city food aid

The map also allows visitors to search specifically for free food, low-cost meals or pay-by-donation locations.

Listed venues include community projects such as Robin Food in De Nieuwe Anita, De Sering on Rhoneweg, Hebron on Polanenstraat, and kitchens run by BuurtBuik.

The initiative was founded by Noa Gur Golan, who researched urban food systems for her master’s thesis and found that many residents could not easily locate existing services.

The platform also aims to help aid organisations connect with one another to share surplus supplies when one site receives more rescued food than it can use.

Tackling waste and food insecurity

The platform receives financial support from the municipality as part of broader food security efforts.

City data shows that Amsterdam residents throw away about 166 million kilograms of food unnecessarily each year.

At the same time, around 25,000 households across the city cannot always afford a healthy meal.

Source: De Westkrant