Cirfood District

Scenario

According to some estimates, the mass catering sector contributes 14 percent of total food waste in the European Union, with an estimated cost of food disposal of about 143 million euros.

In the hospital catering sector, about 269 million meals are distributed annually in Italy, of which one-third(31.2%) are wasted due to various factors such as unforeseen emergencies or changes in patients’ clinical conditions. During hospitalization, patients’ nutritional status may worsen not only due to illness, but also due to inadequate nutrition. Reducing food waste must become a priority to ensure that patients receive the nutrition they need and prevent hospital malnutrition.

In school catering, 12.6% of the meals provided each day is wasted, mainly accounted for by side dishes(22%), main courses(13%) and first courses(11%). In corporate catering, there is a lower waste rate of 2-3%. This is due to two factors: most waste comes from consumer leftovers, which tend to increase when the meal is totally free, and corporate canteens are usually run by outside companies that have an interest in reducing costs, including waste. Proper planning and forecasting of consumption would further reduce leftovers.

Description

From the Feed the Future vision and history of CIRFOOD, a leading cooperative enterprise in foodservice, commercial and welfare services, comes the CIRFOOD DISTRICT.

Taste the Future is the philosophy that inspires the activities of CIRFOOD DISTRICT, a research and innovation center where we experiment together, understand the present to design the future of society, starting with nutrition and sharing experiences and know-how.

CIRFOOD DISTRICT concretizes its philosophy Taste the future starting with four thematic clusters that direct its activities: food making; food tasting; food caring; and food educating. Respectively: the innovation of making; the taste of experimenting; the passion for sustainability; and the importance of education.

One of the projects carried out by CIRFOOD DISTRICT is “Nourishing School” in collaboration with theUniversity of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo. This is a research project conducted in Italian schools in order to learn about the relationship between food and children, with a focus on the changes that have emerged due to the pandemic and the related environmental, social and economic costs.

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