In the Erasmus + project, we finished the activities in chapter 3R (reduce, reuse, recycle). We devoted ourselves to the topic from September 21 to February 22. In the international teams of students participating in the project, we have determined 8 basic rules for handling food in such a way as to adhere to the basic principles of the circular economy:

- use smaller amounts of food at meals and eat several times a day;

- write a shopping list before you go to the store;

– plan meals;

– buy fresh food (more vitamins and minerals);

– buy locally (less transport, distribution, "from the garden to the plate" principle);

– freeze food;

– compost;

- recycle leftover food after meals by reusing it for new dishes.

As part of chapter 3R Food, the students did two researches:

• they calculated the carbon footprint of their families, compared it with the carbon footprint of families in other countries and suggested ways to reduce it
• they compared how school kitchens in different countries adhere to the principles of the circular economy

FIRST SURVEY

The results of the first survey are as follows:

Carbon footprint in tons per person in 2020:

• Finnish 6.1
• Germany 8, 4
• Italy 5.9
• Poland 7,8
• Slovenia 7, 2

The very strict measures against the spread of Covid-19 implemented in Italy (the longest national lockdown of all five participating countries) to prevent the spread of COVID-19 caused the carbon footprint during the period of the national lockdown to be more than 20% lower than the average Italian carbon footprint calculated in the past.

Many international borders were closed and the population was confined to their homes, reducing traffic and changing consumption patterns.

To reduce the carbon footprint, we have prepared the following campaigns:

a) Workshops on the creative use of food scraps, in which each country presented recipes created from recycled raw materials or from ingredients found in the local environment, e.g.:

• The Poles presented Polish piroshki

• The Italians introduced tiramisu

• The Germans introduced spečle

• The Finns introduced fried vendace and sautéed reindeer

• The Slovenians presented the emperor's breadcrumbs

All things food