Barcelona, November 22, 2018.Meals prepared on board ships but not served to guests now have a new life. The Barcelona Food Bank and Costa Cruises have launched a collaboration agreement whereby these meals will be distributed, thanks to the Food Bank, among various NGOs in the Barcelona area to help those most in need.
4GOODFOOD, a global program to cut food surpluses in half
The culinary offering is a fundamental aspect of a cruise; in fact, Costa prepares nearly 54 million meals a year. In this context, the company has taken a crucial step by recognizing the value of food resources and developing a project to reduce food waste. With this program, Costa has completely reviewed and reformed all its food service processes across all its ships, employing an integrated, sustainability-based system that ensures the proactive commitment of both crew and passengers.
According to the FAO, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, almost a third of the food produced globally ends up being lost or wasted. This could amount to 1.3 billion tons of wasted food. Thus, 4GOODFOOD was created with the goal of reducing food surpluses generated on Costa ships by 50% by 2020.
4GOODFOOD is a comprehensive program that considers every aspect of food preparation and consumption on board. As a starting point, Costa began by reviewing all internal food preparation processes. Sustainability and the selection of high-quality, local, and seasonal ingredients were prioritized. Then, in collaboration with Winnow, specialists in process optimization for professional kitchens, Costa installed new scales in all its kitchens and implemented a system to map, quantify, and analyze the waste generated during food processing and preparation. Key to its successful implementation was the training of nearly 2,400 kitchen staff, who were instructed on how to reduce waste and apply sustainable processes.
The company has also developed an onboard awareness campaign, Taste Don't Waste, which directly engages passengers to encourage responsible behavior, especially in the buffet area. Almost a year after its initial implementation on board Costa ships, the results are in line with the company's expectations.
Costa Cruises, recognizing the success of this program, is aware that some of the food prepared on board still goes unserved by guests. Therefore, as part of its 4GOODFOODinitiative, the company has partnered with various food banks in the Mediterranean ports where it operates. Following initiatives in Savona, Civitavecchia, Marseille, Bari, and Palermo, Costa , in collaboration with Banc dels Aliments, is launching this donation project in Barcelona, one of the Mediterranean's most important ports.
In this way, Costa selects dishes from its excellent cuisine that are ready to eat and were prepared in the kitchens the night before disembarking in Barcelona. The food is placed in sealed and labeled aluminum containers for traceability and kept in refrigerated storage until delivery. The following morning, at the port of Barcelona, the containers are handed over to volunteers from the Food Bank , who distribute them to various organizations, including the Acollida i Esperança Foundation and the Hogar Nuestra Señora de Lourdes (Our Lady of Lourdes Home), which, in turn, provide the collected food to people in need.
During the presentation, Stefania Lallai, Director of Sustainability and External Relations at Costa Cruises, explained: “At Costa, we understand the fundamental importance of recognizing the essential value of food, and today we are taking another step in the fight against food waste. In this regard, and in accordance with the goals set out in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, we aim to halve the food surplus generated on board our ships by 2020, ten years ahead of the target set by the United Nations. We are very grateful to the Barcelona Food Bank for making this possible in Barcelona, the most important port in the Mediterranean, and we are confident that this collaboration will be a success.”
Roser Brutau , president of the Barcelona Food Bank , explained: “ We are very grateful to Costa Cruises for making this project a reality. This initiative gives new impetus to the work we have been doing for over 30 years. It is work we carry out in a spirit of solidarity and sustainability, allowing us to distribute surplus food among numerous organizations in the Barcelona region.”
Furthermore, Angela Frigo, Secretary General of the European Food Banks Federation, stated: “At the European Food Banks Federation, we are very grateful to Costa Cruises for this initiative, which is expanding to several countries in Europe. We have witnessed the great potential of food donations from cruise ships to achieve greater social inclusion, improved nutrition, and enhanced human development. Let us continue this project every day to experience the joy of giving and the power of receiving.”
Lucía Parreño del Moral, technical director of Fundació Acollida i Esperança, stated: “Our foundation, based in Badalona, is a non-profit organization and we aim to support people experiencing social exclusion. This initiative represents a great opportunity for us and a prime example of the collaborative economy, allowing us to provide quality food and benefit a large number of families in the region.”
