20-06-2025 | di COOPI

Milan, united against waste and food poverty

On June 21 of last year, COOPI – Cooperazione Internazionale, together with the Municipality of Milan, inaugurated the first of eight food hubs, located in Piazzale Selinunte. This initiative is part of COOPI’s project “Fighting Poverty in Italy” and falls within a broader system for promoting food security in collaboration with public institutions, the third sector, and volunteer networks.

On June 4, the television program Metropolis on Telenova featured the initiative, highlighting the effectiveness of a model built on synergy among different actors, where solidarity functions as a true social infrastructure. Hosted by journalist Stefania Cattaneo, the conversation involved Anna Scavuzzo, Deputy Mayor of Milan, and Federico Pirola, Project Manager of COOPI’s ‘Fighting Poverty’ initiative. Through interviews with other key figures in Milan’s food policy ecosystem, the segment offered a collective narrative of experiences in food education, waste reduction, the food-environment-health connection, and the role of food as a driver of inclusion and social cohesion.

That’s why we call them food policies: it’s not just a project. It’s the idea that the entire city shares responsibility for major issues.”

With these words, the Deputy Mayor described Milan’s Food Policy, a strategic commitment to defining and implementing actions that build a shared vision of the city’s relationship with food, harmonizing the many initiatives the administration leads in this area.

Since 2015, the fight against food waste has been one of the pillars of Milan’s Food Policy, promoting innovation, the exchange of good practices, and cooperation between public and private actors. In this context, COOPI’s contribution fits in, having been active in Selinunte since 2020 with the “Fighting Poverty” project. Since 2023, following a formal agreement with the Municipality’s Food Policy Office, the Selinunte hub has been officially recognized as a "Hub Against Food Waste", joining the network of eight active hubs throughout the city. The hubs recover edible food waste from major supermarket chains and redistribute it to the most vulnerable families.

The program also revealed how, increasingly often, former beneficiaries of the food hubs are now actively engaged as volunteers, creating a virtuous cycle that restores dignity and strengthens community belonging. Federico Pirola, COOPI’s Project Manager for ‘Fighting Poverty’, stated:

The sense of community and connection that food brings us must be the starting point to face the challenges ahead.”

This spirit is reflected in COOPI’s active participation in local networks, such as QuBì – a system that unites institutions, civil society, and citizens in the fight against poverty in Milan. Thanks to the contribution of numerous other local actors, a structured and shared approach has taken shape, recognizing food as a vehicle for inclusion, equity, and sustainability.

A network united by the principle that no one should be left behind.