Reducing Food Waste and Rescue Surplus Food Supplies

<< Background >>Wast amount of food waste is generated annually across the EU, from production to consumer levels, resulting in significant economic, social, and environmental costs. Reducing this waste, whether packaged or raw, can improve resource efficiency, sustainability of food production, lower GHG emissions, and enhance public health in Europe and globally. Research indicates that targeted training programs could be instrumental in this effort by increasing awareness of food waste volumes across the Food Supply Chain, addressing environmental impact and tackling the ethical implications of global hunger (affecting nearly 12% of the population).This project will help participants assess factors that drive food loss (self-assessment tool), identify and evaluate solutions to mitigate waste (e-learning hub), develop tools and operational strategies and address logistical challenges that generate food loss (methodology framework). It will emphasize the role of digital tools in recovering lost food. Collaboration among diverse project partners, including food waste experts, chambers of commerce, technology providers, VET trainers, NGOs, project managers and dissemination organizations, will improve the competence of all partners in this field.<< Objectives >>Τhe general objective of the project is to raise awareness of the importance of the problem and its possible solutions at all levels, to all actors at every step of the supply chain. Project will contribute to food rescue from waste and promote global efforts and collective action towards meeting the Sustainable Development Goal Target 12.3, which targets to halve food waste at the retail and consumer level by 2030 and reduce food losses along the food production and supply chains.The objectives are focused on the following directions:- Establish effective synergies and communication channels between humanitarian actors and food loss generators- Support food loss generators in assessing and measuring food waste and related factors- Equip humanitarian actors with tools for end-to-end food rescue chain management- Foster innovative practices for food rescue among all food loss generators- Enhance training for humanitarian staff involved in food distribution- Help Ho.Re.Ca. companies and supermarkets evaluate their environmental impact- Ensure compliance with EU regulations on food safety, hygiene, traceability, liability, etc.- Promote a common interpretation of EU rules on surplus food redistribution across Member State<< Implementation >>ReS-Food consortium implemented the following activities:UNS had developed the Project Management Plan which served as a roadmap for project implementation and communication; Project Work Plan which lists all the project’s activities and tasks and the expected time of implementation to produce a Project Result,All project partners have signed bilateral Partnership agreements,SIGMA had developed the Risk Management Plan, which was served as a risk management tool stipulating the main risks to the project activities,CSKIK had developed the Dissemination and Exploitation Strategy,which was served as the main guideline for effective exploitation and dissemination,SIGMA had developed the Quality Management Plan,which was served as the main quality assurance tool,ALL PARTNERS: Development of main project results:Methodological Framework and e-Learning Hub,Targeted dissemination via organizing national project multiplier events in each partner country,Developed plans of resources and actions to ensure sustainability of the project results after its end,Organization and attending of all project meetings,Final reporting, including guaranteeing post project developments and preparation of final report on project implementation.<< Results >>ReS-Food Project Results are the following:PR1: State Analysis Assessment Report based on an online Europe-wide assessment and interviews with environmental and food security experts,PR2: TOOLBOX with all required tools including templates, methods, bibliography, and charts that can be used by the target group to contribute to the food distribution process,PR3: Methodological Framework aiming to identify, communicate purpose, and select surplus food producers, define quality acceptance criteria per food category, and provide logistical support requirements for food collection and distribution,PR4: Self-Assessment Tool with queries designed for senior managers or executives of SMEs and large enterprises within the HORECA & Supermarket sector aiming to assess their practices and actions related to the management of food waste PR5: Online two-fold Training Course in food management (for food waste generators and humanitarian organizations) designed to help companies in the Ho.Re.Ca. sector reduce overall food loss by passing on edible food to those who need, thus also reducing the negative impact on the environment All results are available on project website in English, Greek, Croatian, Hungarian and Serbian language.