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Romania

Proximity technology against food waste

A number of digital-based solidarity projects make use of food surpluses in supermarkets and restaurants by distributing them to people with limited access to resources and mobility difficulties.

Article
By Ramón Oliver
05 Apr 2024

Zero Hunger. This is the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal number 2. As the global population continues to grow, with over 8 billion in 2023, ensuring sufficient food supplies for all has become not only a global      concern, but also a top priority for today’s societies. Food waste, particularly in developed countries, is a significant issue that needs to be addressed.

According to the latest AROPE indicator, 12.3 million people in Spain are in a situation of poverty and/or social exclusion, recalls Natalia Rueda, Communication Manager at the Altius Foundation. As a result, these people and their families are unable to maintain a complete and balanced diet, since “accessing certain foods such as meat, fish, oil or dairy in sufficient quantities is almost impossible for them.”

Last mile solidarity

In response to this significant challenge, the Altius Foundation and the Spanish tech company Glovo have launched an original initiative to bring food to these vulnerable groups by repurposing food waste. As Rueda explains, “Solidarity Delivery Centers (SDC) are storage facilities for donations of non-perishable and fresh food products. They are then delivered once a week to the homes of families in situations of social vulnerability.” This project was launched in 2022. It currently operates in Madrid and Barcelona, but there are plans to extend it to other cities in the near future. In 2023, it delivered more than 22,500 kilos of food products to an average of 789 people per month.

The process starts by identifying vulnerable people who, due to a lack of resources, mobility problems and other circumstances, are unable to buy food and other basic products. Meanwhile, delivery drivers collect surpluses from supermarkets or other partners on a daily basis and take it to the Solidarity Delivery Centers (SDC). At this point, the SDC team prepares weekly baskets for families, which contain the surpluses collected, donations from food banks and other collection campaigns. Then, they deliver them to the homes of the beneficiaries.

Thanks to the Solidarity Delivery Centres, more than 22,500 kilos of food products to an average of 789 people per month

In this way, Solidarity Delivery Centers not only allow vulnerable people to access food that would otherwise go to waste, but they also deliver it right to their doors. The project is specifically aimed at those who, for various reasons, are unable to go to the food distribution centers to collect the baskets themselves. Glovo provides storage facilities, human resources to manage them and the logistics and experience needed to collect the surpluses daily and deliver the weekly baskets.

The Solidarity Delivery Centers (SDC) are part of the Glovo Access program, which is a last-mile logistics service that brings technology closer to NGOs and public administrations. Since its launch, this platform has helped distribute more than 4.2 million meals on behalf of NGOs, municipalities, charities and social enterprises. In 2023, Glovo started offering its Glovo Access platform to four community kitchens managed by the regional government of Madrid. This service allows community kitchen users with reduced mobility to have their weekly food aid delivered to their homes.

This initiative is a good example of how companies, administrations and NGOs can be much more effective and achieve a lot more when they work together rather than separately. For Natalia Rueda, consumer and corporate awareness, as well as the imminent entry into force of the Law on Prevention of Food Loss and Waste, will be a significant challenge. She believes that “NGOs will play a vital role in redistributing surplus food from producers and distribution chains.”

Local and international focus

Both the Solidarity Delivery Centers and Glovo’s other social initiatives are supported by the Impact Fund, a financial instrument that allocates a small amount of money from each order made through the Glovo app to fund projects that have a positive impact on the community. One of the key criteria used by the company to choose which initiatives to support is their potential to have a local impact. This focus on local needs allows for a more precise and effective response to the unique needs and challenges of each community. This strong local focus also extends beyond our borders. “Food waste is a global problem that not only exacerbates world hunger, but also has an impact on the environment,” says Zoe Giardino, Social Impact Manager at Glovo. In 2021, the platform launched another pioneering initiative in Romania to mitigate the negative impact of food waste.

The project, which is carried out in collaboration with Kaufland Social Canteen and the Sansa Ta Association, provides over 130 daily meals to disabled people and vulnerable families around Bucharest. “Meals are prepared using surplus food from the Kaufland supermarket chain in Bucharest, and they are delivered from the Kaufland’s community kitchen directly to the beneficiaries’ homes,” Giardino explains. Again, Glovo is contributing its experience and logistics capabilities to support this initiative, which is aimed at “having a positive impact, both socially and environmentally.”

Once again, collaboration between private companies, NGOs and communities is key to the success of this community kitchen. As Zoe Giardino points out, “if we want to be more circular with our food consumption, we must continue promoting partnerships and education on issues such as responsible consumption, sustainable practices and the importance of minimizing food waste.”

Zoe Giardino: “If we want to be more circular with our food consumption, we must continue promoting partnerships and education on issues such as responsible consumption, sustainable practices and the importance of minimizing food waste”

Food waste figures

According to the Agricultural Outlook Report 2023-2032, produced by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in collaboration with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), up to 931 million tons of food are wasted worldwide.

13% of food produced annually is lost at some point in the supply chain, while an estimated 17% is wasted in households, in the food service and in retail all together.