The Polish capital, Warsaw, is home to 1.8 million people within a greater metropolitan area of 3.1 million residents. The city has been a major hub for transport, tourism and industry in Poland and the European Union since the country’s ascension to the bloc in 2004.
The City of Warsaw has been addressing nutrition challenges in primary schools for the last ten years thanks to the campaign “I know what I eat” dedicated to eight-and ten-year-old children. This educational programme raising awareness about the significance of healthy diets has evolved within the last few years to also address the children’s parents and the school culinary staff.
After having signed the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact (MUFPP) in 2015, the city decided to broaden its activities related to food issues. Since 2019 Warsaw has been the Vice Chair of the Eurocities Working Group Food.
As part of its Food Trails initiative, Warsaw launched the Warsaw Food Lab to foster sustainable food transformation using the REACT Method, which combines evidence-based insights and systems thinking. The Lab promotes cross-sector collaboration, with a focus on reducing food waste by targeting restaurants and associations that receive food from the local food bank. Approval of Food Policy: due to Polish legislative framework no thematic policy can be adopted at local level, food system will be embedded in the broader strategy of the city.
Pilot 1 — Food waste prevention. Knowledge compendium for restaurant owners illustrating the legal framework on food donation and communication campaigns
FOOD 2030 co-benefit: circularity
Warsaw created a compendium guiding restaurateurs in food donations, accompanied by the “no waste.food co-op” communication campaign encouraging food donations to public benefit organizations. Additionally, the guide “We cooperate, we don’t waste!” illustrates how straightforward this process can be. The platform facilitates connections among restaurants willing to donate surplus food with local NGOs interested in receiving food.
Pilot 2 — Food waste reduction. Optimizing food donations management for food banks
FOOD 2030 co-benefit: communities
The second pilot project addressed the needs of associations providing food to vulnerable citizens, in collaboration with the local food bank. Key issues included the type and quantity of food donated, and its management by these associations, which often face a high turnover of volunteers. The solution created for these associations involved mapping food flows and providing smart, intuitive food storage systems for facilities with a clear set of instructions. This included a smart labelling system for different rooms, shelves, and refrigerators, fostering good practices and new habits.
Living Labs Numbers
77
Restaurants received
campaign materials to
support them in food
surplus distribution
77
Local NGOs interested in
deploying all or part of
the smart storage system
and in receiving the set
of instructions
146
Participants to the
workshops
1
Scientific article
pubblished
The description of the city’s living labs is available in all the project languages in the final publication of Food Trails. Go to the resource!
