FoodE Ambassador Toolkit

FoodE Ambassadors Toolkit

From Food Loss to Food Entrepreneurship - Youth​ Initiatives for Sustainable Development

Table of content

What is the ambassadors toolkit

E-Learning Module on food loss

Educational Videos

Best Practices Anthology

Modified Guide of practice days

how to create business initiatives

Business Model Templates

How to create a media campaign

Communication Guide

What is the ambassadors toolkit

Down with the boring contentin your presentation: makeit entertaining

The FoodE Ambassador’s Toolkit is designed to guide youth organisations and young people to become FoodE Ambassadors and take an active role in the fight against food loss. The toolkit will provide them with tailor-made training material, templates, and guidelines on how to take advantage of open-access software for generating graphic resources. In addition, it will outline the main components and provide the complete methodology for launching a digital media campaign.

Environmental impact of Food Loss

Causes of Food Loss

The importance of addressing Food Loss

Distinction between food loss and food waste

Definition of Food Loss

E-Learning Module on food loss

Find here more videos regarding the above topics

Innovative Solutions and Technologies

Best Practices in Reducing Food Loss

Principles of the Circular Economy

Sustainable Agricultural Practices

Causes and Impacts of Food Loss

Educational Videos

Olio is a mobile app that connects neighbours and local businesses to share surplus food.

FoodCloud is an Ireland-based platform that connects food businesses with charities and community groups to redistribute surplus food.

Zero Food waste Cyprus is an initiative of Young Volunteers trying to make a change in their local communities.

Rescuedbox works with local farmers and supermarkets to "save" fresh fruits and vegetables that are unwanted because of their appearance, which would otherwise go to waste.

Quasimodo creates jams, sauces and other natural canned goods from cosmetically imperfect fruits and vegetables, reducing the tons of food wasted each year.

Best Practices Anthology

Gamification Days in the Farming Fields

Entrepreneurs’ Corners are dynamic, interactive spaces specifically designed to nurture entrepreneurial activities among young people (Shepherd and Williams,2020). These spaces serve as platforms where youth can engage in various entrepreneurial pursuits, gaining invaluable insights and practical knowledge from industry experts. Additionally, they provide a unique opportunity for networking with peers who share similar ambitions and interests, fostering a collaborative environment that encourages idea exchange and partnership.

Open Living Labs

An Open Living Lab is an innovative collaboration platform that promotes the creation and testing of new ideas in a real-world environment. It is an inclusive approach to innovation and research, integrating various stakeholders such as citizens, businesses, researchers, educational institutions and public services. Through this interaction, participants can actively contribute to co-create solutions that respond to real needs and challenges.

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Gamification Days in the Farming Fields

Gamification Days in Farming Fields, part of the FoodE project, use game-based learning to engage participants in hands-on agricultural environments like farms or gardens. These events focus on identifying food loss issues and brainstorming solutions. Often structured as "treasure hunts," participants move through stages of the food value chain, fostering creative problem-solving around food loss prevention.

Information Days/Science Cafes

Information Days are events that provide the public, stakeholders, and participants with detailed insights into a project through presentations, Q&A sessions, and networking. They aim to share key information and offer guidance on project objectives. Science Cafes are informal public gatherings where experts discuss scientific topics with the public, fostering open dialogue and promoting science communication in a relaxed, accessible environment.

Narrative beings

We tell thousands and thousands of stories. ⅔ of our conversations are stories.

GUIDE OF PRACTICE DAYS

Include detailed information, like statistics or market analysis, in the appendix for easy reference, without overloading the main document. Add relevant documents like competitor analysis or financial projections.

Appendices and Supporting Documents

Risk mitigation reduces potential threats to business success. Develop contingency plans, set Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), and track progress and performance for continual improvement.

Risk Mitigation

Deliverables are the final results provided to stakeholders. Ensure you understand stakeholder needs, plan how to execute the deliverables, and ensure innovation in the business initiative.

Deliverables

Business objectives define what you aim to achieve. They should focus on key areas like growth or revenue and be written as SMART goals: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.

• Specific: Clearly state objectives and actions.
• Measurable: Quantify expected results.
• Achievable: Set realistic, attainable goals.
• Relevant: Align with overall business goals.
• Time-bound: Set clear deadlines to manage progress.

Objectives

HOW TO CREATE BUSINESS INITIATIVES

Business Model Templates

Media campaign focused on the FoodE objectives

A media campaign is an effective tool for raising awareness about a project's main topic. It involves promoting a specific message through a coordinated, medium- or long-term strategy. Media campaigns can use both traditional and digital media, depending on resources. This document focuses on strategies for digital media campaigns, particularly using social media, as it suits the FoodE project’s goals due to the target audience, resources, and potential impact. Social media is cost-effective, offers wide reach, and allows for direct engagement through likes, comments, and shares, providing real-time feedback, which is crucial for campaign follow-up.

How to create a media campaign

Using the appropriate channel

High Relevance

Young (future) farmersAgro-entrepreneursAgri-food organisationsYouth workers focusing on food loss and wasteYouth organisations dealing with agrifood-oriented practices

Medium Relevance

Agri-food experts Youth organisations in general Youth workers in general

Low Relevance

Representatives of start-up Potential entrepreneurs in general Scientist/researchers

Understanding your audience

Communication Guide

Thank yoy for reading the FoodE Ambassadors Toolkit

This video explores the entire life cycle of consumer goods, from extraction to disposal. It highlights the environmental and social consequences of our throwaway culture, including pollution, exploitation and waste. The video argues for a shift towards more sustainable consumption and production patterns and encourages viewers to rethink their relationship with material goods. Through simple explanations and powerful visuals, it delivers a compelling message about the need for systemic change to create a more sustainable and equitable world.

This video introduces the basic concepts of sustainable agriculture, emphasising a holistic, whole-farm approach. It explores how integrating diverse farming practices can improve environmental health, economic profitability and social well-being. Viewers will learn about the importance of crop diversity, soil management, water conservation and the role of technology in creating resilient and sustainable farming systems. This video is part of a series of 8 videos exploring different sustainable practices and issues, which are also available on YouTube.

Causes of Food Loss

Fear of infestations from pests or extreme weather phenomena usually leads farmers to plant more than what they would need to supply. This can lead to higher production costs and at the same time, place the production quality in jeapordy. Climate change is also causing changes in weather patterns, which makes it difficult for farmers to predict when to plant and harvest their crops. Fresh produce prices can fluctuate rapidly, sometimes falling below the cost of harvest, processing, or shipping, making market entry unprofitable. When prices rise, growers may intensify harvesting, including lower-quality products, leading to increased losses later in the supply chain. The economic state of farms can dictate premature harvesting. Poorer farmers may face food deficiencies or financial needs, which can be subject to unsuitable products in terms of both nutritional and economic value, resulting to unwarrented food loss. Additionally, low-income nations may not have access to the latest farming methods and equipment or optimal infastructures, affecting their quality and quantity of their products, creating further financial and food insecurities. In medium- and high-income countries, consumer behavior and a lack of cooperation among various supply chain participants are the main causes of food losses and waste. Agreements between farmers and buyers on sales may cause some farm crops to be wasted. Due to quality standards that disallow food items with imperfect form or appearance, food can go to waste. In developed countries, consumers demand a constant supply of fresh produce and often prioritize appearance over quality. As a result, retailers and producers throw away perfectly edible food that does not meet strict appearance standards. Furthermore, consumers often purchase more food than they need, leading to waste at the household level.

Handbook on the Pedagogical Applicability on the Implementation/Production of Gamification Days.

Open Living Labs Implementation Guide

Organization & Implementation Entrepreneurs’ Corners

Access here the full reports

Guide for FoodE Practice & Innovation Days

Value Propositions

The value proposition is the heart of the business model, as it identifies how the product or service meets a customer need or solves a problem. Examples include:

• Innovation: new and revolutionary market-changing solutions.
• Personalisation: tailored products or services for individual customer needs.
• Quality: Improved performance or features of a product.
• Cost reduction: Helps the customer to reduce their costs.
• Risk reduction: Reduces the risk that may arise from the purchase of a product or service.
• Easy access: Simplicity in using a product or service creates value for the customer.

Key Partners

Partnerships allow companies to strengthen their activities and gain access to resources or know-how that they do not have internally. Partnerships include:

• Strategic Alliances: Partnering with non-competitors to maximize performance.
• Strategic alliances (Coopetition): working with competitors to jointly achieve objectives.
• Joint ventures: Creating new businesses jointly with other companies.

Customer Segments

Businesses operate to serve one or more customer segments. It is necessary to identify who these groups are, as they determine the firm's offering. Some examples of customer segments include:

• Mass Market: the product appeals to a broad audience with no differentiation, such as the electronics market.
• Niche Market: Targets specific, niche customer groups, such as car parts manufacturers.
• Segmented Markets: The company targets different segments with similar needs, such as companies that provide products for both medical and industrial use.
• Multi-sided Market: refers to situations where the business serves two or more customer groups that interact with each other, such as credit card companies that need both cardholders and merchants.

Definition of Food Loss

Food loss refers to the reduction in the quantity or quality of food that occurs throughout the supply chain, from production to consumption. This encompasses losses during harvesting, post-harvest handling, storage, processing, distribution, and even at retail before reaching the consumer. Food loss has profound implications for the environment, economy, and society as it results in wasted resources such as water, energy, and labor, contributing to environmental degradation and economic inefficiencies. Food loss is a critical global issue with wide-reaching effects. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), approximately one-third of all food produced globally is lost or wasted each year (FAO, 2020). This figure represents around 14% of food lost between harvest and retail. In a world where about 870 million people suffer from hunger, these statistics underscore the urgency of addressing food loss as a moral, economic, and environmental imperative.

Cost Structure

This element describes the costs associated with the operation of the business model. Some examples include:

• Fixed Costs: costs that do not change regardless of production volume.
• Variable Costs: Costs that increase or decrease depending on production.
• Economies of scale: Cost reduction as production increases.
• Purpose economies: Cost savings through expanding the scope of activities.

The video explains the food waste recycling process in Bath and North East Somerset, UK, and what happens to the food waste once it is collected. Food waste is turned into biogas, which can then be used to generate electricity and heat for local homes - maximising value for greener, more sustainable living.

Revenue Stream

This element relates to how the business generates revenue from each customer segment. Some ways of generating revenue streams include:

• Asset Sale: Traditional sale of products.
• Usage fees: Payments for the use of a service.
• Subscription fees: Periodic payments for continued access to a service.
• Licensing: Licensing of intellectual property in exchange for payments.
• Brokerage fees: Fees for brokering transactions.

Key Resources

Key resources are the necessary means to execute the business model. These resources can be:

• Physical Resources: Buildings, machinery, infrastructure.
• Intellectual Resources: Patents, intellectual property rights, trademarks.
• Human Resources: Personnel with specific knowledge or skills.
• Financial Resources: Liquidity, credit lines or capital.

The video explains how to reduce food loss and waste across the entire supply chain, starting from farms, moving through storage and packaging, and ultimately addressing the behavior of retailers and consumers.

Customer Relationships

Building and maintaining relationships with customers is critical to long-term success. Businesses can choose different types of relationships depending on the need:

• Personal Relationships: Direct contact with customers for a more individual approach.
• Self-service: Providing tools for customers to serve themselves.
• Automated Services: More sophisticated form of self-service, often using technology.
• Communities: Creating a community around the product or service, allowing customers to contribute to value creation.

Key Activities

These activities are the most important for creating value, maintaining customer relationships and generating revenue. They include:

• Production: Creating products or services.
• Problem solving: providing services that solve specific problems for customers.
• Platform Management: Managing a platform or network that connects different customers and providers.

The importance of addressing Food Loss

Resources: Food production consumes vast amounts of resources, including water, land, and energy.  Agriculture alone, accounts for 70 percent of the water used throughout the world, which translates into significant waste of freshwater and groundwater resources. Almost one-third of the world’s total agricultural land area, is used to grow food that is never used and just thrown away.  These wasted resources, lead to unnecessary greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental problems. Climate change: Agriculture is a major source of greenhouse gases, contributing significantly to climate change (OECD, 2022). Food loss and waste exacerbate this issue by releasing unnecessary emissions at various stages—from methane produced by over 250 million farm cows (FAO, 2019) to the energy wasted in producing, transporting, storing, and cooking food. Additionally, spoiled food in landfills further contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. Carbon footprint - greenhouse gas emissions:  Producing, distributing, and preparing food uses up fuel and energy, and produces greenhouse gases such as CO2, methane, and nitrogen. A huge amount (3.6 gigatons) of greenhouse gases is emitted each year in the production, processing, storage, and transportation of food that gets thrown away and then more greenhouse gases are emitted as wasted food decomposes in landfills.   Water footprint: Water shortages, droughts, and desertification are by-products of climate change. Food production is responsible for the biggest water-use in the world, meaning that any wasted food can be considered wasted water as well. Land occupation footprint: The amount of land that is used to grow food that is later wasted, is comparable to the land size of the Russian Federation. Biodiversity: Biodiversity refers to the variety of life on Earth at all levels, from genes to microbes, animals to ecosystems. Deforestation puts at risk animals’ natural habitat, threatning them even with extinction. Moreover, the loss of plants in these forests, can intensify the levels of CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions.

Channels

Channels are the ways in which the business communicates and distributes value propositions to its customers. Channels must be effective and aligned with customer needs. Examples of channels include:

• Direct Channels: The company manages distribution directly, such as a physical store or an online store.
• Indirect Channels: Distribution through partners, such as affiliated resellers.
• Ownership and Partnership: can be done through either proprietary channels or through partners, and the right mix of channels is critical to success.

Engage and impressyour audience

By using interactive resources, you will be able to distribute information at different levels, making it more comprehensible. In addition, interactivity allows the audience to assimilate the ideas you want to convey intuitively and effortlessly.

Write an amazing headline

Visual content is a cross-cutting, universal language, like music. We are able to understand images from millions of years ago, even from other cultures.

Distinction between food loss and food waste

Although food loss and food waste are often used interchangeably, they do have some important distinctions, and understanding the difference between them is essential for addressing their root causes. Food Loss Food loss refers to the decrease in the quantity or quality of food that occurs at the earlier stages of the food supply chain. This includes agricultural production, post-harvest handling, and processing. The primary causes of food loss are environmental factors such as adverse weather conditions, pests, and diseases, as well as issues related to infrastructure, technology, and market conditions. Additionally, food loss can result from strict quality, aesthetic, or safety standards that lead to the rejection of food products before they reach the retail stage. Notably, food loss occurs due to decisions and actions by food suppliers, excluding retailers, food service providers, and consumers. Food Waste Food waste on the other hand, refers to food intended for human consumption but was ultimately discarded or allowed to expire at the retail, food service, or consumer stages. This can happen during food preparation, sales, or in households and restaurants. Common examples include unfinished meals, spoiled or expired food, and even peels and rinds that are discarded rather than used. Food waste is more directly influenced by consumer behavior, such as purchasing too much food, improper storage, or simply not consuming food before it spoils.

Approximately 14% of global food production is lost after harvest and in the distribution chain before reaching the retail, and a further 17% of food available for consumption is wasted. Between 8% and 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions are caused by food loss and waste. Whether the food produced is consumed or not, carbon dioxide is produced at every stage of the food supply system, from production to handling, distribution, transport, storage, leaving a large carbon footprint. In addition, the decomposition of food waste in open dumps and landfills significantly increases greenhouse gas emissions. The unstable climate caused by greenhouse gases negatively affects crop yields, reduces the nutritional quality of crops, disrupts supply chains and threatens food security.

Environmental impact of Food Loss

According to the UN, climate change is driven by greenhouse gas emissions, with agriculture being a major contributor. When food is lost or wasted, the energy and resources used in its production are also wasted, and food in landfills produces methane, further exacerbating climate change. Reducing food waste can significantly lower greenhouse gas emissions and help mitigate global warming, emphasizing the need for sustainable practices in food production to protect the environment.Greenhouse gases (GHGs) like carbon dioxide, methane, nitrogen oxide, and fluorinated gases, naturally trap heat in the Earth’s atmosphere, maintaining a climate suitable for life. However, human activities, such as burning fossil fuels for energy, deforestation, and food production, have significantly increased GHG emissions, leading to climate change. The UN highlights that food production, particularly animal-based foods like red meat and dairy, is a major contributor to GHG emissions, while plant-based foods have a lower impact. Below is an illustration depicting the difference in GHG emissions, emerging from the above products. Agriculture occupies 50% of the world's land, with most of the habitable land transformed by human activity. Despite covering only 1% of the land, urban areas are in stark contrast with the 30% of agricultural land used to grow food that ultimately goes to waste (Ritchie and Roser, 2019). The FAO estimates that the land used for food waste equals the size of Russia (FAO, 2013). The land use footprint, is a tool that measures the land resources required for producing goods or services, including the land used to grow crops eaten by animals to produce a final meal (Ritchie and Roser 2019) As mentioned above, food production requires significant water use. According to the Water Footprint of Food (https://foodprint.org/) , the water footprint of a food product is the volume of freshwater used to produce the product, measured at the place where it was made and refers to the sum of the water used in all steps of the production. Although water footprint can be reduced, it is almost impossible to be eliminated. In order to become “water neutral”, an individual change is required to make a substancial global change. The water footprint calculators listed below, can help us understand our water consumption by retrieving information by our water use habits and consumption patterns. .