Recovering food waste: local solution to a global challenge

In the 2030 Agenda, the UN has set the second of the Sustainable Development Goals as “Zero Hunger“: one in eight people in the world does not have access to the food they need, while food waste reaches about one third of the total we produce each year. This culture of overproduction and food waste is neither sustainable from an economic nor an environmental and social point of view.

This is true not only globally but also locally: in our communities good food is trashed every day, while some among our fellow citizens go hungry, even more in these times of pandemic.

In developed countries, food waste occurs mainly in commercial circuits: food that is edible but can no longer be sold, perhaps because it was not ordered at the restaurant or because its expiration date is too close, ends up in the garbage, never reaching the plates of those who would need it.

Hunger and malnutrition are problems that have complex causes, which originate in deep-rooted economic inequalities, colonization processes and modern land grabbing practices. However, the recovery of food waste is within reach and can be achieved by activating solidarity networks within our communities. This is the goal of some networks of associations and citizens in the pilot cities of Fairbnb.coop.

We want to support these virtuous experiences by allocating half of our commissions to them. You can help them by planning your next holidays via Fairbnb.coop or by listing your vacation rental on our platform for free.

Re-food Foz do Douro: Porto volunteers in action to eliminate food waste

Re-food is a Portuguese community movement led by citizens, who work without wages to eliminate food waste on a neighbourhood basis. In fact, the movement adopts a micro local approach and is structured as a network of independent groups: throughout Portugal there are over 50 Re-food Centers, each of them operating in and for its local community.

Every Re-food Center has the obligation to publish its record of service, financial transactions and all pertinent data for the local community to review.

In Porto, Fairbnb.coop supports the Foz do Douro Re-Food Center, which is active since 2014. The volunteers of this Center daily collect good food in the commercial consumer environment – restaurants, cafes, bakeries, supermarkets, caterers, businesses of all kinds – and provide it to those who need it in the same community where the food is rescued – at no costs to the beneficiaries and at nearly no cost at all.

If you manage a regularly registered holiday home in Porto, you too can participate in this solidarity network by publishing your listing on our platform.

It only takes a few minutes for people working in the markets or in the kitchens of the food source partners to save good food into Re-food provided packages instead of throwing it away. Hundreds of Re-food volunteers invest a few hours of their time in food collection, packaging or distribution.

The Re-food movement, in addition to eliminating food waste, thus manages to activate the people of goodwill in every community who voluntarily join to build the human bridge between excess and necessity that effectively changes the world for the better in their own neighbourhoods.

However, the main mission of Re-Food Foz do Douro remains to fight food waste and feed those who need it most. Unfortunately, with the pandemic the catering sector is suffering a lot and, consequently, the food resources that can be distributed are reduced. However, the volunteers are continuing to do their best to maintain the solidarity network in their community.

Fairbnb.coop has chosen to support this effort by donating half of its platform fees to keep the local Re-Food Center operational and purchase food that cannot be retrieved. Help us help by planning your next holiday in Porto via our platform.

Food Surplus Recovery Center: a concrete aid for the Valpolcevera of Genoa

Valpolcevera is an area of the Ligurian capital largely inhabited by citizens in state of social distress, due to inequalities, lack of prospects and opportunities, poor liveability, inadequate services and connections. In this area there are 13 of the 18 city districts that have a situation of alarm, for the widespread poverty and the low schooling and employment rates.
This is the problematic context in which the Community of San Benedetto al Porto has been operating since 2013: twice a week distributes free food to those who cannot buy it, recovering food waste from commercial circuits.

C.R.E.A. project, Italian acronym for Food Surplus Recovery Center, represents an innovative pathway to combat food waste, poverty and social exclusion: every year, more then 130 families in difficult conditions benefit of the project.

The absolute transparency of the supply chain from collection to distribution, guaranteed by the Subsidiarity pact with the Municipality of Genoa, allows to really give donor companies an account of the intended use of the collected goods and retain them.

If you manage a regularly registered B&B holiday home in Genova, you too can support the C.R.E.A. project by publishing your listing on our platform.

The operators of the historic community founded by Don Andrea Gallo, all of whom are engaged in paths of emancipation and work reintegration, weekly collect edible but no more saleable products from the general market of Bolzaneto (SGM): especially fruit and vegetables, but also oil, coffee, biscuits and whatever else has an expiration date too close to be sold.

The quantity of fresh fruit and vegetables recovered in one year it is around the incredible figure of 100 tons.

Until August the 14th, 2018, to the project was destined the totality of the profits of the Fabbrica del Riciclo, a recovery and restoration center for furniture and other objects managed by the same San Benedetto al Porto community, which was housed in a shed located just below spans of the collapsed Morandi Bridge.

Today C.R.E.A. counts on the support of travellers who choose fairbnb.coop to book their stay in Genoa and thus have the opportunity to donate a part of the total cost of the vacation rental to finance their activity.