Connecting ICT Solutions with circular food to lay path for sustainability

Food connects people communities, regions and countries and the food and drinks sector employs 4.25 million workers across the EU, contributing 7% of its GDP. A further 4% is contributed by the hospitality sector which provides food related services to consumers. Yet food production and consumption in the EU produces 80mt/yr of food waste much of which is avoidable, together with 170mt/yr of CO2 emissions.
Important targets have been set to reduce the environmental impact of food. The UN Sustainable Development Goal 12.3 proposes that by 2030, food waste per capita at retail and consumer levels should be halved and that food losses should be reduced along production/supply chains. The EU, through its Green Deal roadmap seeks to reduce carbon emissions and greater efficiencies in the use of resources (circular economy).
VET training plays a significant role in the food and hospitality sector, where many young people find their first job. Yet an initial review of VET provision in related fields (catering/chef/hospitality) suggests little VET provision exists with formal training to connect the environmental impact of food and food waste, to the skills and knowledge associated with careers in the sector. Initial discussions with VET educators have confirmed they lack the knowledge and insight to communicate the importance of food waste reduction to VETs.
The project objectives are therefore:
• To produce an e-Platform with extensive resources that enable VET educators to introduce food and food waste reduction practices within informal and formal VET educational programmes at level EQF 4, that supports reductions in environmental impact of food and catering organizations (SO1)
• To produce highly innovative and digitally interactive food waste canvas and simulator tools which VET providers can use with VET students in the workplace, encouraging strategic cooperation between the VET providers and local catering/restaurant communities (SO2).
• To produce exemplar storytelling-based case studies which utilize Augmented Reality (AR) technology to offer visually compelling examples of good food waste management Practices (SO3).