An Easter without waste? Nothing is thrown away: apps and tips to respect food

“The ‘case of Italy’: food waste is worth over 9 billion euros. Over 4 tons of food ended up in the trash“. This is what the report published by Waste Watcher International Observatory on Food and Sustainability told last month, which translated food waste in Italian homes into money.

The data refer to January of this year and say that oEach of us throws away an average of a pound of food a week (524 grams): 12% less than in 2022, but that’s still a lot. Especially calculating that in Italy we are about 60 million people. The residents of the South are less attentive to managing the leftovers of lunch and dinner (+8 percent) and families who have no children (+38 percent compared to the Italian average).

THE household food waste they are worth 6.48 billion euros, but the figure rises to 9 billion, if we add the products that are lost along the entire food chain: from the fields in agriculture to retail. Before reaching wholesale points in 2020, about 13.5% of products that have not yet arrived in consumers’ homes have been lost.

And then the holidays: 5% of the food will be thrown away

We throw away food without even touching it. According to the Italian Farmers Confederation every year 25 tons of food are thrown away without being consumed. Yet, many steps are required to get the dishes to the table, which mean greenhouse gas emissions, soil and water consumption, and the use of energy. But it’s not just an environmental issue. 9.4% of Italian families live in absolute poverty. And then there are the holidays.

During the Christmas period and also at Easter about 5% of the food we buy will be thrown away. What will end up in the trash? Especially fruits and vegetables, but also bread, dairy products and meat. In the next few days there will therefore be a surge in the level of food waste, which means an increase in the level of pollution: one ton of food waste produces 4.2 tons of CO₂.

Here are some tips to avoid food waste at Easter:

1. Plan the menu

By carefully choosing the menu, you can plan what and how much to buy, spending the right amount. No to generic purchase.

2. Watch out for offers

26% of waste comes from purchasing products on special offers. Sometimes it can be convenient, but only if we are sure that we will use them. And pay attention to the expiration date.

3. Reuse or freeze leftover food

If there are leftovers, they can be reused in the preparation of other courses. There is no limit to creativity. Or freeze them.

4. Proper storage of food

Everything in the right place in the fridge. Above all, pay attention to how fruit and vegetables are stored, which represent 16 percent of the most wasted products.

The guide: apps, startups and associations

But how can each of us contribute to preventing and combating food waste on a daily basis? Sometimes small daily gestures are enough. With the help of apps, startups, associations and cooperatives, food sustainability can be implemented every day. Here are some.

Wastemeter

Presented on 5 February, Sprecometro.it is a (free) app developed by the Waste Watcher International Observatory on food and sustainability in collaboration with the Department of Agri-Food Sciences and Technologies of the University of Bologna and Last Minute Market. Just enter the name of the food and the app measures the food waste in grams of both individuals and groups, evaluating the economic loss, the carbon footprint (kilometres traveled by a car) and the water footprint (H₂0 and bottles of water).

Based on the type of food inserted, the app offers videos, cards and quizzes to help both reduce waste and adopt healthy diets. At that point, for each variation in individual waste, the app keeps track of points. Groups can be activated: friends, family, school and university class, company employees. To discuss and ask for advice. And on Instagram you can share achievements and community progress.

Too good to go

The (free) app founded in 2015 in Denmark Too good to go allows nearby supermarkets, bars, restaurants, hotels and bakeries to sell unsold food online. Instead of being thrown away at the end of the day, it can be purchased at a reduced price and picked up by consumers in-store. After downloading the app, you have access to a wide variety of shops available nearby. You can search for items by location, collection time or type of food, such as vegan or vegetarian. Once you have selected your option and made the online payment, the app provides a receipt which must then be presented in the shop to receive the bag of food: a magic boxes which is equivalent to approximately 1/3 of the original value of the product. Often surprisingly.

Phenix

Also with Phenix it is possible to buy unsold products that restaurateurs, bars, supermarkets and all the other shops make available in the boxes at the end of the day. On the app it is possible to check which and where are the closest businesses participating in the initiative, also choosing the type of box you want to buy from organic, vegan, vegetarian, halal, kosher and other categories and pay for the products at reduced prices. Phenix was founded in 2014 in France. The Italian cities where the app is widespread today are Milan, Bologna and Turin.

Plant Jammer

The (free) app helps, through creativity in the kitchen, to avoid wasting what has already been purchased. The foods found in the house are inserted e Plant Jammer will combine them to suggest recipes that are simple to prepare. Or you can choose a preparation to experiment starting from seasonal foods, or from the type of cuisine we prefer and the type of dish we would like to consume. The recipes and combinations are designed in an anti-waste version.

Regustus

Every month within the platform Regustus over 120 tons of food and more are donated and sold. Born in Perugia in 2016, it aims to tackle the problem of waste in two different areas: business and non-profit. In both channels, supply and demand for food in excess or close to expiry are geolocated with the aim of promoting the recovery and redistribution of surpluses.

Through geolocation, the app signals last minute offers from restaurants (which sell unsold dishes at a discounted price), allowing customers to book them by phone and then pick them up. A habit so far quite ignored in our country, but which is now ready to spread. Regusto also has another function dedicated to public administrations, which can use the app to facilitate the donation of surplus food from farms, canteens and restaurants to non-profit organizations, distributing it to those in need.

Myfoody

Active since 2015 Myfoody is an app with which supermarkets can report offers and discounts applied to products close to their expiry date or which have aesthetic defects, thus combating the waste of all those foodstuffs that should be thrown away at the end of the day.

Empty fridge

The app, of which there is also a web version, allows you to reduce domestic food waste by suggesting how to use the ingredients you have available in the fridge or pantry. There are over 25,000 recipes in the app. After the ingredients have been entered, Empty fridge suggests how to cook them. On the app you can also enter food intolerances, allergies and diets, such as vegan and vegetarian.

Last minute market

Member of the European Platform on Food Loss and Waste. Last minute market deals with both supermarket food surpluses and unused medicines. The project is called “friendly drug”. In 2019 alone, over 790 tons of food were recovered for over 200 organizations that help people in need.

Foodbusters the food catchers

THE Foodbusters they are a group of people who have created a fresh food recovery foundation in the Marche region. They have declared war on food waste during events: wedding banquets, corporate meetings, birthdays, parties. You can call them by consulting their website. Volunteers will arrive in the kitchen who, once the surplus food has been recovered, will take it in a short time to charities and solidarity organizations, family homes.

recovery

The project aims to combat food waste and promote active citizenship: they recover unsold food in the markets and share it with all the people who participate in the activity. On associationrecup.org there is the map, the day and the time when the volunteers will arrive in the various markets of the city.

Food Pride

The net Food Pride is a “multi-action” project that operates in the recovery of food surpluses and unsold products in the markets of Turin and the hinterland, but also in nearby shops such as bakeries, fruit and vegetables, minimarkets. It then organizes cooking workshops for the conscious and more efficient use of recovered food and for the dissemination of topics on food prevention. The associations that make up the network carry out educational activities in schools on food waste, as well as awareness-raising events on the fight against food waste.

Feeding

Active in Pavia, it recovers food that would otherwise be discarded by the small and medium-sized distribution system and redistributed to private citizens in difficulty in order to be independent from the point of view of finding food. Feeding collaborates with 17 commercial activities that supply the association with surplus products, or which can no longer be sold, but which are still good and in full compliance with health and hygiene standards. It allows you to be independent from a food point of view, without giving up the quality and variety of products.