The fight against food waste has become a strategic pillar of current society. It is estimated that a third of the food produced in the world is thrown away and, therefore, preventing and minimizing the generation of food surpluses at all links in the chain must be a priority. The inflationary spiral, drought, and the growth of social inequalities make this effort even more necessary, as it is estimated that this waste has a cost of 143,000 million euros per year for companies and households in Europe.
Fortunately, the population is increasingly aware and initiatives aimed at ending this scourge are multiplying. Consequently, it is very positive that entities such as Mercabarna —the main food distribution center in Southern Europe— have decided to recognize these efforts and reward both large companies that champion this cause, as well as more modest initiatives promoted from the social sphere, but which can be reproduced in any neighborhood. Thus, this Wednesday the large central market in Barcelona presented the third Mercabarna Paco Muñoz Awards against food waste to the Ametller Origen group and the Federació d'Entitats Calàbria 66, rooted in the Sant Antoni neighborhood of Barcelona.
Each award is endowed with 5,000 euros and to choose the winner, the jury has taken into account the positive social, environmental, and economic impact generated by each initiative, as well as the number of actors involved in the different links of the food chain, the quantification of reduced food waste, and the replicability, scalability, and economic viability of the projects.
Of the seven companies and entities that have submitted to the awards, Ametller Origen has won in the category of best Food Waste Prevention initiative, while Calabria 66 has won in the Social Innovation category. This year, the Technological Innovation against waste category has been declared void. The awards also aim to be a tribute to Paco Muñoz, a professional who was a precursor in the fight against food waste in Catalonia, both from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) and from the Plataforma Aprofitem els Aliments (APA).
"It is an honor to receive this recognition, as it encourages us to take even more actions in favor of the environment and people's health," highlighted Amaya Prat, sustainability director at Ametller Origen. According to the executive, the fight against waste is part of the fresh produce distribution group's DNA and involves all its employees. "This award is a recognition of the work done and our obsession with giving real value to food," added Prat, who assures that the chain is very close to achieving its goal of reducing waste to zero in all areas of the company: from the field to the stores.
The jury valued the holistic vision of Ametller Origen's Fem Camí program, as its waste prevention project is comprehensive: it addresses the problem from agricultural production to the final customer, passing through its processing plants and its warehouses and logistics chain. Thus, when there are fruits and vegetables that are already seen in the field that cannot be sold in stores, they are not discarded, but are taken to the company's kitchens to be transformed into creams, juices, purees or other dishes. They also collaborate with the Fundación Espigoladors of Barcelona, which collects directly from the fields products resulting from overproduction or those that have lost commercial value, but are still suitable for human consumption. Likewise, they sell, with discounts of up to 40% in the chain's stores, fruits and vegetables with morphological defects, but with all the nutritional and organoleptic qualities.
The surplus fruit and vegetables from their logistics warehouse are taken to the Foodback of Mercabarna, to be distributed among social entities that deliver them to vulnerable people. As for retail sales, products close to their expiration date are identified with purple labels and are sold with a 25% discount in the group's stores, or through the Too Good To Go platform, through which consumers can purchase surprise packs of products, at a third of the sale price, in participating stores.
In addition, Ametller has trained its staff in sustainability, food waste and waste management and regularly carries out social awareness campaigns and workshops among its customers.
During 2022, the company has donated 1,162,139 kg of products to social entities, has saved 275,556 food packs and has contributed to the reduction of 1,872,880 kg of CO₂ in the atmosphere.
The second major initiative awarded in the third edition of the Mercabarna Paco Muñoz Awards demonstrates that this cause should not only be championed by large companies, but that it is also necessary to actively involve civil society. In this sense, the Aprofita'm program has been recognized, which has been launched thanks to the cooperation of different entities that make up the associative fabric of the Sant Antoni neighborhood of Barcelona. The Federació d'Entitats Calàbria 66 is responsible for coordinating the program, which also involves the NGO Veí a Veí ---which functions as a food bank for the most disadvantaged residents of the neighborhood--- and the Community Rehabilitation Service of the Left Eixample (SRC-EE), which is responsible for offering comprehensive care in the field of mental health.
"Aprofita'm is a good example of how from a neighborhood and associative movement, formulas can be sought to solve the main problems of the closest environment, in this case the food needs of people at risk of social exclusion, focusing on food waste and even reaching the preparation and distribution of food," highlights Mercabarna.
A triangulation that involves volunteers and patients
The program, which began in 2020, consists of a triangulation where all parties benefit. On the one hand, part of the food that arrives at Veí a Veí is used to prepare menus that are delivered to vulnerable families in the neighborhood and to homeless people. These dishes are cooked by the users of the SRC-EE, who turn this activity into another element of their therapy and process of rehabilitation and social integration.
In the food collection process, apart from the donations received by Veí a Veí, three neighborhood businesses (FoodCoop, Molsa-Ceres Naturals, and IdoniCoop) participate, contributing food discarded due to aesthetics or proximity to the best-before date. Aprofita'm volunteers take these surpluses to the Community Kitchen located in the Sant Antoni Market Neighborhood Space, where once a week a group of 20 people with different types of mental health problems cook menus that are then distributed to 51 vulnerable families (74 women, 55 men, and 45 children and adolescents) and 55 homeless people in the Sant Antoni neighborhood and its area of influence.
During 2022, Calàbria 66 prepared 2,572 food portions, distributed 615 kg of products, and contributed to the reduction of 938 kg of CO₂ in the atmosphere.
"We launched the project without resources and, little by little, we have given it momentum thanks to neighborhood action," explains Aïna Leal, director of Calàbria 66. According to Leal, the initiative will now grow, as two groups of SRC-EE users will be created and cooking will be possible two days a week thanks to the collaboration expected to begin with the CAP de Manso. The idea is also to be able to deliver the different dishes that are cooked to people in the neighborhood who live alone.
The jury members
The jury of the awards is made up of experts from different institutions and entities: Pilar Chiva, director of the Circular Economy Area of the Agència de Residus de Catalunya; Glòria Cugat, deputy general director of Inspection and Agri-food Control of the Departament d'Acció Climàtica, Alimentació i Agenda Rural of the Generalitat de Catalunya; Laura García-Herrero, Policy Officer, Joint Research Centre in ISPRA (Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research); Eduard Hernández, head of the Technology Area of the UPC-Mercabarna Chair against Food Waste; Fernando Ortega, president of the Agri-food Industries Commission of the Official College of Agricultural Engineers of Catalonia; and Nuria Pedraza, director of Communication and Institutional Relations of AECOC (Association of Manufacturers and Distributors of the Food Sector).