04-02-2026 | di COOPI

Day against waste: over 1,000 tonnes of food recovered in Milan. COOPI's commitment to the Hub network

On the occasion of the Day for the Prevention of Food Waste (February 5th), the Municipality of Milan released the 2025 data on the recovery of food surpluses as part of the city's Food Policy. During the year, 1,057 tonnes of food were recovered through the network of eight Food Aid Hubs, equivalent to over 2 million meals, which were redistributed to 18,000 vulnerable families.

Within this system, COOPI - Cooperazione Internazionale plays an active role in the network for the recovery and redistribution of food surpluses in Milan, through the “Fighting poverty” project and the management of three food distribution points, including the Food Waste Hub in Selinunte.

As part of the Milan City Council's Food Policy, COOPI receives surplus food from school canteens, three large food retail chains and the Milan Fruit and Vegetable Market, intercepting food that is still fit for consumption and transforming it into concrete support for the most vulnerable people (families, elderly people living alone and people in economic difficulty).

Federico Pirola, COOPI project manager, explains:

In Milan, our work shows that what risks being thrown away can become a valuable resource again, strengthening community ties and offering concrete support to those who need it most.

For the Deputy Mayor with responsibility for Food Policy, Anna Scavuzzo:

With the Food Aid Hubs, we are not only dealing with food, but with people and families, with a concrete impact on food poverty.

The recovery of surpluses is not just an emergency response, but a structural choice: reducing food waste means reducing the environmental impact of the food system and, at the same time, ensuring more equitable access to food. This is a local action that speaks a universal language and makes the principles of the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact tangible, day after day: less waste, more solidarity, more future.