Milan, 9 May 2023 – Over 290 tons of food recovered in 2022 and over 48 tons in the first three months of 2023 alone: a model for the fight against food waste that is consolidating and growing.
Assolombarda today hosted a multi-voiced discussion and reflection on the actions that together with the Municipality of Milan, the Cariplo Foundation and the Milan Polytechnic are being promoted in the anti-waste hubs thanks to the daily commitment of third sector entities and businesses.
“FoodPolicy and the fight against waste in Milan are combined in many projects starting from the neighborhood hubs: in the Food Forum we want to make them known more, tell about the results, also open them to visits by schools and citizens – underlined the Deputy Mayor and Councilor to Education with responsibility for Food Policy Anna Scavuzzo opening the event -. Networking that makes the difference and that we continue with new ideas to respond to the many different needs that are emerging”.
The Neighborhood Hubs initiative was launched in 2019 by the Municipality of Milan together with the Cariplo Foundation, Assolombarda and the Milan Polytechnic, promotes the recovery and redistribution of food surpluses, with a territorial network of third sector subjects, who sometimes they donate food to people and families in difficulty.
“The network of neighborhood hubs represents a fundamental hub of Milan’s food policy which has allowed us to reach citizens, especially the most fragile, opening up a dialogue that goes beyond food and enters capillary contact with the territory – he underlined Carlo Mango Research Area Director, Fondazione Cariplo – This network, also recognized at an international level, represents a tool for openness and interaction beyond the borders of our country”.
Virtuous collaborations have been developed in the hubs which create a social proposal in the neighborhoods, involving many different experiences and sensitivities.
The Foody Zero Sprechi initiative, within the Milan agri-food market, involved around 60 wholesalers, through the Valore project, promoted by the Cariplo Foundation in collaboration with Sogemi and the Municipality of Milan, together with Eco dalle Città and Caritas Ambrosiana active at the market.
“To overcome the crisis and encourage growth, we must continue to ‘build a system’ and further extend the network of neighborhood hubs against food waste – said Alessandro Scarabelli, general manager of Assolombarda -. In recent years, the network has achieved important goals thanks to valuable teamwork, typically Ambrosian in style, between institutions, universities, foundations, associations and companies. But we can do even more: with this in mind we have created the ‘Zerosprechi Hub’ brand, a brand created pro bono by the Armando Testa group which will be recognized to donors of surpluses and, more generally, to supporters of the initiative so that they can value your membership as a good practice that is born in our area. Like Assolombarda,
During 2022, in the four Hubs against food waste active in Milan (Isola, Gallaratese, Lambrate and Centro, the latter inaugurated last September), over 177 tons were collected from 12 supermarket brands, reaching over 3,500 families (data : Food Sustainability Observatory of the Milan Polytechnic). To these are added another 120 tons of food surplus recovered by Recup and Banco Alimentare della Lombardia, collected in the fifth the Foody Zero waste Hub present within the Sogemi agro-food market in Milan source (data: University of Milan), thus reaching over 290 tons of food recovered during 2022.
In the first three months of 2023 alone, in the four Hubs of Isola, Gallaratese, Lambrate and Centro, 48 tons of food have already been collected and donated for over 97,000 equivalent meals.
“We are proud to tell the results of a great story, that of the District Hubs against food waste in Milan, a project resulting from a multi-year process of collaboration and continuous social innovation – underlined Alessandro Perego, Vice Rector for Sustainable Development and Impact , Politecnico di Milano -. The system of involving both public and private partners has allowed over the years to go through an initial phase of experimentation, followed by a phase of consolidation and reconfiguration of the project activities in response to the pandemic and, finally, expansion and scalability of the hub model. enriching itself with new partners, resources and a plurality of services for the benefit of people in need. In this context, the Politecnico di Milano,
The partners of the Neighborhood Hubs
Supporting bodies: Progamma QuBi, Fondazione Milan, Banca di Credito Cooperativo di Milano and Fondazione Snam.
Management bodies: Banco Alimentare della Lombardia, Terre des Homme Italia, Ibva Solidando.
Hub Foody Zero waste: Sogemi, Cariplo Foundation, University of Milan, Banco Alimentare della Lombardia, Recup Opera Rossa, Eco dalle Città, Caritas Ambrosiana
Technical sponsors: Avis Milano, Number1 Logistics Group, SoDe social delivery, Italian Red Cross – Milan Committee
