Food Heroes

Improving resource efficiency through designing innovative solutions to reduce food waste

Context

FAO estimates that each year one-third of all food produced for human consumption in the world is lost/wasted. This project focuses on the first parts of the chain responsible for 60% of EU’s food waste (FAO). The objective is to design and test innovative solutions to limit food losses. This is being facilitated by the collaboration between stakeholders on the following themes: fish, fruits and vegetables, male chickens and goats.

Actions

The project is enabling collaboration between the creative sector, agrifood sector, agriculture, knowledge institutes and public authorities can collaborate to design and test solutions for food waste. To ensure that the solutions will be long-lasting, the partners are using a common methodologie for the co-creation of innovative solutions and demonstration of good practices. The project partners therefore participate in international events such as the World Design Expo 2017 and have organised a competition to give international prizes to the most promising projects working on reducing food losses (Food Heroes Awards).

AC3A and the Regional Chamber of Pays de la Loire have been working specifically on two of the themes : finding solutions for fruit and vegetable losses – using unsold pumpkins in canteens, and also supporting a group of goat farmers in the setting up of a supply chain for “Autumn goat meat from Pays de la Loire” organising, for example, activities on this subject at the Nantes Food Forum 2018 and the Event of Tables de Nantes 2019.

Delivrables

A series of videos on the problems and solutions (Reducing food losses in farming FR EN, Anti-food waste soutions in agriculture FR EN), Billy goat meat value chain in Pays de la Loire (FR&EN), list of actors working to find solutions for food waste in Pays de la Loire (EN), a study on fruits and vegetable losses, a feasibility study for the goat meat sector as well as a presentation and economic model for each of the potential solutions.

As part of the final conference of the Food Heroes project – the Digital Food Waste Fest 2.020 which promotes the fight against food waste, we are organising a webinar on French initiatives. « Unsold or undervalued products, what are the challenges and what solutions exist to fight against food waste at the source? » (see here).

Food Heroes was funded (60%) by INTERREG Europe du Nord-Ouest

The project ended at the end of 2020.

Replay – Webinar Food Heroes

Replay – Webinar Food Heroes On Tuesday 8 December, the online webinar on Food Heroes projects took place as part of the Digital Food Waste Fest 2.020. Review of this…

Giving value to food waste

Giving value to food waste AC3A has been working with the Chamber of Agriculture of Pays de la Loire on the project Food Heroes, about innovative solutions to reduce food…

Digital Food Waste Fest 2.020

Digital Food Waste Fest 2.020 How do we fight food waste today? How can we do more?     This year, the Digital Food Waste Fest 2.020 (Final conference of…

Webinar: Food Heroes – 8/12/2020

Webinar: Food Heroes – 8/12/2020 As part of the final conference of the Food Heroes project – the Digital Food Waste Fest 2.020 which promotes the fight against food waste, we…