Good practice for Sustainable Food Systems in a circular economy perspective: The Neighbourhood Food Hub project in Milan

The action comes from the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact, an international agreement of Mayors agreed upon in October 2015 and signed by over 113 cities across the globe. It is a concrete working tool for cities, composed of a preamble and a Framework for Action listing 37 recommended actions, clustered in 6 categories, one of which related to food waste. For each recommended action, there are specific indicators to monitor progress of the implementation of the Pact. The Milan Pact Awards offer concrete examples of the food policies that cities are implementing in each of the 6 Pact categories. One of their most important projects concerns the Neighbourhood Food Hubs around the city of Milan. The Hubs redistribute food surplus in coordination with five logistics centres. This project won the Award Earthshot Prize 2021 promoted by the Royal Foundation of Prince William of Wales. The best practice described here is a pilot Hub following the policy pact described above. More specifically, after identifying the need for the establishment of food redistribution hubs to trade food surpluses generated by commercial activities, the city of Milan identified abandoned urban areas where to establish these Neighbourhood Food Hub. Therefore, the city put in place food waste prevention actions through the collection and distribution of food items discarded but still suitable for human consumption.