VE-GO-RA Agency and Inventivna rješanje d.o.o., as partners in the Cities2030 project, organized the conference “The role of cities in reducing and preventing food waste” based on the Food System Summit Dialogues model, which aims to bring together key stakeholders to discuss challenges and solutions within the food system.
The conference took place on May 23, 2024. in the premises of VG Entrepreneurial Incubator and brought together representatives of the Department related to the theme of the conference of the cities of Zaprešić, Samobor, Jastrebarski, Ivanić-Grad and representatives of Veliko Gorica Administrative Departments as well as VG Čistoća, with whom we carry out some of the project’s activities.
Velika Gorica LAB, VE-GO-RA and Inventivna rješanje have been actively working on the establishment of a food system in the City of Velika Gorica for three years as part of the Horizon2020 research project Cities2030. As an important element of that system, we recognized the need to prevent and reduce food waste. Therefore, as one of the activities of the project, we accepted the initiative of the Ministry of Agriculture “Food is not waste” and we call for joint action through the Voluntary Agreement, which has already been positively accepted by the City, and its signing was announced in 9 months at the final conference of the Cities2030 project.
The voluntary agreement on the prevention and reduction of food waste “Together against food waste” is signed by the Ministry of Agriculture and representatives of food producers and processors, trade, hospitality, the scientific and academic community, local and regional self-government units, non-profit organizations, initiatives, and associations. The signatories voluntarily undertake to invest efforts in reducing food waste in their business processes, to donate food, and to actively communicate with consumers. The agreement encompasses the entire chain of activities, from food production and processing to households.
The goal of concluding such agreements, and at the same time the goal of the conference, is to encourage cooperation and dialogue between different stakeholders, focused on preventive activities, redistribution of surplus food, and all other activities that can contribute to the effectiveness of the food waste prevention system. The agreement also represents a contribution to the socially responsible and socially sensitive business of the stakeholders.
Past and future activities and the problems faced by the existing signatories were presented to us by Mr. Emil Tuk from the Department of Urban Nutrition of the City of Zagreb and Mrs. Gordana Matašin from the Administrative Department for Agriculture, Rural Development and Forestry of the Zagreb County.
At the conference, Velika Gorica LAB also presented the Milan pact on urban food policy and its methodology, as well as its link with the Cities2030 project and the Voluntary Agreement initiative of the Ministry of Agriculture, as well as the “Food is not waste” project, a portal that you can visit to see examples of good practice, ideas about activities and already prepared educational materials.
We are glad that the participants expressed an interest in this event, which was intended to increase interest in signing this agreement, the main goal of which is to prevent and reduce food waste – according to the latest estimates, more than 280 thousand tons of food are thrown away in Croatia annually, or even 71 kg per inhabitant.
No Plan can be successful without the involvement, connection, and participation of all participants necessary for its implementation, so we hereby invite all representatives of food producers and processors, trade, hospitality, the scientific and academic community, local and regional self-government units, non-profit organizations and initiatives and associations and companies to participate in this much-needed initiative.
Let’s transform the food system TOGETHER
