Living sustainably: Avoiding Over consumption through Zero Waste in the Kitchen

<< Background >>The project reacted to the challenges of food waste, increasing waste production and CO2 emissions and the arising need to boost awareness and education of ZERO WASTE not only locally but also internationally.The project responded to the need to promote and enhance the quality of kitchen waste reduction activities in the catering sector. Additionally, we aimed to support the organisation's capacity to work transnationally and cross-sectorally efficiently. We also desired to initiate positive changes in the lifestyle and consumption patterns of students, trainers, VET trainers and employees in the catering sector.Our partnership featured flexible forms of training, combining international and national activities. Examples include local workshops dedicated directly to the target group in each organisation. We dedicated particular attention to training people from disadvantaged and special needs backgrounds and to support social enterprises involved in local traditional food production.<< Objectives >>Through the implementation of the partnership project and the exchange of good practices Zero waste in food we wanted to achieve our objectives, namely:-strengthen the quality of work and good practice in reducing kitchen waste in the catering sector-to support organisations in the area of transnational and cross-sectoral cooperation-to initiate changes in the behavioural style and consumption habits of students, VET trainers, employees in the catering sector. In this project, through the exchange of good practices, we achieved the objectives of inspiring VET teachers, trainers and students in the food and catering sector to cooperate with their European partners. We also aimed to encourage the widest possible sharing of ideas and training experiences. An important target group was people with fewer opportunities from disadvantaged groups for various reasons. Additionally, we aimed to inspire our partners for future waste reduction projects and activities.Our practical guide on reducing kitchen waste allows it to be used in various forms of classroom: formal, non-formal or informal VET settings.<< Implementation >>The implementation of the activities included the development of all the training materials set out in the project, such as research, collection of materials, creation of texts and design of graphic tools.Two international meetings were realised by the partners and virtual meetings were held systematically every 3 months. An international thematic workshop for trainers was realised. We systematically carried out activities related to implementation and sharing of results and outcomes. Training sessions, field studies, short courses, so called talks and workshops were carried out in all local organisations with the involvement of associated partners, and we had mentoring embedded in all possible local working sessions, which contributed to the development of a handbook with the title 'Zero waste in the kitchen', 10 infographics, exchange of good practices. In all activities we involved people with fewer opportunities, either as team members (volunteers) or addressees of the activities. The results of the project are used in catering firms where people are trained, in vocational training centres, vocational schools, in catering workshops, but also in canteens and during theoretical classes.<< Results >>We expected that the exchange of good practices through this small-scale partnership would motivate VET providers in the catering sector to collaborate with European colleagues through the exchange of ideas and training experiences. The catering sector was inspired to collaborate with European partners, resulting in the exchange of valuable ideas and training experiences, as well as the planning of future projects to minimise the amount of waste generated in the sector. The main result is a practical guide 'Zero waste in the kitchen, basic principles and tips' has been created according to a flexible training approach, allowing its use in different training contexts. It is available in all languages of the partnership.The project has united vocational schools and organisations working in the training sector who, together with businesses such as restaurants, agro-tourism, small factories, catering companies, who will prepare and support their employees to use 100% of every ingredient in the cooking process and become conscious members of the zero waste community.