Share Food, Cut Waste

This course is addressed to all those who are interested in reducing food waste and enhancing food security for people in need. Producers, food transformers, distributors, HoReCa enterprises and non-profit organizations, as well as consumers and citizens, can get new insights on issues such as the food waste hierarchy, food donation, healthy and responsible patterns of food consumption, food banking. The course also offers operational guidelines, best practices and conceptual models to managers, employees and volunteers who want to get proficient in surplus food re-use and re-distribution. Share Food, Cut Waste is a joint initiative of Politecnico di Milano and Fondazione Banco Alimentare ONLUS.After learning the keywords of food sharing and food waste reduction, you will find out how surplus food arises and how unsold or unserved food can still be put at good use, through re-use and re-distribution processes. You will also understand the criteria and operational processes that support an efficient and socially-oriented management of surplus food, and will discover how new materials and new packaging solutions can be used to enhance food safety and resources-efficiency. After that, consumers are put under the lens, because we all can reduce food waste through our shopping choices and consumption behaviours. A key player is then introduced, namely food banks and their different recovery models. Front-line non-profit organizations are also examined. Finally, the numerous changes occurring in the world of surplus food recovery and food waste reduction are discussed, from new models for non-profits, to new public policies, to innovative services. You can access the course absolutely free of charge and completely online.