Funded by

Single Market Programme

Information
  • Length: 2025 - 2027
  • Lead Partner: Municipality of Sala Baganza (IT)
  • Members Involved: SERN
  • Other Partners: Sara Chiussi (IT)
  • Priority Area: #Green&SustainableCommunities #ClimateAction
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Contacts
Federica Gravina
Project Officer - SERN
Ginevra Roli
Project Officer - SERN

FOOD4FUTURE

Sustainable Food Future: engaging schools and families to combat food waste in rural municipalities

About the project

This project is built on the insight that in the fight to reduce food waste, rural municipalities are in a unique position to drive change. Not only is much food produced in rural areas, but rural municipalities often have a strong sense of community making it possible to influence behaviour through collective action.

Based on insights from previous work such as the ICC challenge, FOOD4FUTURE seek to develop a replicable model for rural municipalities, focused on the interaction between schools, families, and NGOs. The project wishes to utilise the influence of schools to take important steps towards a sustainable food system, while ensuring education translates into practical, meaningful action.

FOOD4FUTURE will be answering the needs of several key stakeholders in rural communities. Students need awareness motivation to act against food waste, which FOOD4FUTURE will provide through hands-on activities. For teachers and canteen staff it will provide resources and tools to work with students on the issue. Households need to be more aware of food waste, but also need practical support to manage it.

Objectives

The project seek to fulfill the following objectives:

  1. To identify and address key factors that contribute to food waste among consumers
  2. To design and test a set of food waste reduction actions centred on families, schools, and community engagement
  3. To measure the impact and develop a behavioural change model that could be replicated in other communities.

Activities

The following activities will realise the project objectives:

  1. Gathering of data, through for instance focus groups and surveys, to set baseline and targets.
  2. School program on food waste, with actions focused on giving students practical skills to deal reduce food waste, but also carrying out an audit of food waste in schools.
  3. Engaging the broader community, through Zero Waste Days.

Impact

The project will have an impact on consumer awareness in the areas involved: having increased both awareness of food waste, as well as the engagement of schools and communities. Moreover, the project will lead to a food waste reduction on schools, and produce to a replicable model that will be used by other rural municipalities. In the long term, the project will achieve behavioural change on food waste and lead to the institutionalisation of food waste reduction practices.

Expected results

The project will when completed have achieved:

  • A significant increase in awareness on food waste among consumers.
  • A food waste hotspot report developed, gathering behavioural insights and reduction elements.
  • An increase in active engagement on the reduction of food waste among local families, communities, as well as schools.
  • A reduction of food waste in schools.
  • A food waste reduction model developed and replicated, also scaled to other communities.
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