A third of the world's food production is wasted each year!
According to the UNEP Food Waste Index 2021, food waste is estimated to generate 8-10% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
In November 2020, the European Council and the European Union Council published that within the EU-27, 87.6 million tons of food are wasted annually.
In Luxembourg, the result of a 2018/2019 study by the Administration of the Environment indicates that a person wastes, on average, 118 kg of food per year. People could save up to € 75.50 per year by reducing food waste. It also showed that most of the waste is generated at household level, about 75%. This is followed by collective kitchens (10%), and the restaurant industry and the retail sector at 7% each.
To counteract the situation, the National Plan for Waste and Resource Management aims to halve this significant loss by 2030.
“Mir sinn Antigaspi, an Dir?”
In 2023, to raise awareness amongst children and their parents on food waste, and local and organic food, IMS Luxembourg ran the pilot project “Mir sinn Antigaspi, an Dir?”, in cooperation with the Ministère de l’Agriculture, de la Viticulture et du Développement Rural. After the success of the pilot project, in 2024 IMS Luxembourg developed a pedagogical kit in order for the employees of the Maison Relais to manage the project autonomously.
The project takes place at several Maisons Relais in different regions in Luxembourg. A Maison Relais is where children consume their school lunches, but it is also the before and after school care centre. With the project, the children will do two kinds of challenges:
- Collective challenges activated at the Maison Relais
- Individual challenges realised at home with the family
To ensure follow-up, the children will receive a notebook describing the challenges, and they can write or draw their experiences and rate the challenges.
Some of the challenges the children will realise are:
- Meeting a farmer
- Cooking workshop
- Analysis of food waste
- Rearranging the fridge to keep all the products at the right temperature
- Getting to know the season for different fruits and vegetables
In April/May, the project starts with a kick-off meeting for the parents at each Maison Relais. After the realisation of the challenges, a ceremony will take place to reward the children's efforts with a certificate before the start of the summer holiday in July.
In autumn, a conference was organised and an exhibition is available.
Les achats durables en entreprises
Sensitise purchasers to a new approach, that of sustainable purchases, which take into account the origin of the products and their impacts and reality of the prices. In this guide, the concrete solutions of companies that have addressed the problem of purchases in food.
Publication reserved for our members, ask for the password at: info@imslux.lu
Exhibition "Let's protect the food"
The exhibition is linked to the pilot project "Mir sinn Antigaspi, an Dir?" with 4 Maisons Relais in Luxembourg. It presents the aim of the project and the various collective and individual challenges carried out by the children to raise awareness of food waste and local and organic consumption.
The exhibition is available on loan: info@imslux.lu
"Mir sinn Antigaspi, an Dir ?", le kit complet
The project aims to raise awareness of the need to reduce food waste and to promote local and organic food. The kit contains presentations and challenges for children and parents to complete.