The 2nd edition is involving over 900 schools in Italy, Poland and Slovakia.
More than 900 schools and 640,000 people (students, teachers and families) in Italy, Poland and Slovakia are involved in the 2nd edition of Moments not to be Wasted, the edutainment project launched last year by Whirlpool EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) to raise awareness of the problem of food waste and the need for responsible and informed consumption.
In a multidisciplinary approach that privileges play as a method of learning and the kitchen as a place for sharing, the second edition of the project will involve italian communities, in the regions where Whirlpool operates: Lombardia, Toscana, Marche and Campania.
The initiative will also be reaching out, for the first time, to students, teachers and families in Warsaw, Radomsko, Lodz and Wroclaw in Poland and in Poprad, in Slovakia, countries where Whirlpool EMEA has both commercial and industrial operations.
“We’re proud to be able to join the battle against food waste, a global priority officially embraced by the UN and governments across Europe. It’s an issue we care deeply about, being central to our strategy of social responsibility and one of the guidelines for ongoing innovation in our products. After the success of the 1st edition, we decided to extend this important project to other communities in EMEA where we operate,” explains Karim Bruneo, Corporate Responsibility and Government Relations Manager, Whirlpool EMEA. “We want “Moments not to be Wasted” to promote shared responsibility by working with students, their families and teachers. Together we can back one another up in educating and training the kids of today and the adults of tomorrow.”
“We’re glad to be partners in this important project this year too,” says Beatrice Costa, Head of Programmes, ActionAid International Italia. “We’re grateful to Whirlpool for its commitment and sensibility over pressing issues like fighting food waste and promoting healthy eating. It’s with little kids that we can start bringing about real change, which is why we’re supporting this initiative to involve schools in educational activities focusing on eating habits that benefit people’s health and safeguard resources.”
According to the latest figures from Waste Watcher, the average Italian family wastes 84.9 kg of food a year, meaning total waste of around 2.2 million tonnes worth 8.5 billion euros, which is 0.6% of GDP.
All the schools taking part in the programme will receive an educational kit containing guidelines for teachers and the following materials designed to stimulate students’ creativity and get them thinking about anti-waste action:
- interactive illustrated album – My anti-waste kitchen – which kids can take home so that the project can be shared with their families too;
- game – No waste in our kitchen! – with a poster-board and 12 cards for practising at not wasting;
- booklet on the competition Talent Kitchen – stories from kitchens that don’t waste, including the competition rules, registration form and suggestions on producing and sending in deliverables.
To make the project even more stimulating for the classes taking part, there will be an educational contest in which they will “virtuously” compete by producing deliverables (photos, videos, drawings – analog or digital), thus making their voices heard and sharing their bright ideas. In addition to giving prizes to the winning classes, Whirlpool EMEA will make a donation to Associazione ActionAid Italia to use on projects combating hunger, poverty and social inequality in Italy and worldwide.
Production of the kits distributed in schools benefited by scientific consulting from Whirlpool EMEA’s Global Food Institute, a centre of excellence based at Cassinetta di Biandronno (Varese), where food technologists and thermodynamics, electronics and mechanical engineering experts work everyday to improve the consumer’s experience by developing technological solutions enabling home appliances to cook and preserve food without compromising its nutritional value and organoleptic characteristics.