Food Matters Study Tour in Milan - Intro and Day 1

I recently spent a few days in Milan on a study tour organized by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Economia e Sostenibilita (esta), and Novamont. This tour was attended by representatives from five U.S. cities and focused on food waste prevention, rescue, and recycling (compost and bio-gas production). The five cities were Baltimore, Denver, Phoenix, Cleveland, and Oakland. There were two representatives from each city who have some role in food waste prevention in their city. I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to represent Baltimore, in my position as a waste reduction coordinator. My co-representative was works for the Planning Department. 

While in Milan, we met with city officials, waste companies, local non-profits, university officials, and others. We observed waste collection in Milan and Trevisio. We visited multiple compost facilities (small and large), an anaerobic digestion facility, a waste sorting facility, and even a diaper recycling facility.

Day 1, June 17

The first day we ate lunch at the well-know Refettorio Ambrosiano which feeds people in need using food rescued from grocery stores and other places. The meal was delicious, and a great start to the trip. Over lunch, we got to know each other and I learned a little about the interesting work underway in Denver and Oakland. 


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After lunch, we visited a market where a local volunteer group rescued unsold produce to donate to those in need. Food that was no longer edible was brought to a nearby community garden which we also visited. 











It was inspiring to see so many people working hard to make sure that this food was still able to be used in a productive way. 


We then went to the Milan city center and saw the outside of the Duomo, the Milan Cathedral, which is one of the largest in the world. After a few photos, we walked to the Milan city hall to meet with the city officials who created the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact.  They presented on the very thoughtfully-developed strategies and goals to reduce, rescue and recycle food. 










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