Investment in trained, multidisciplinary technical teams, quality management, participation of different sectors, a systemic vision, and democratic governance are key factors for expanding cities’ capacity to reduce hunger and food waste through sustainable systems. This is the conclusion of the case study carried out by the “Cidades e Alimentação” (Cities and Food) project, run by Embrapa Alimentos e Territórios (AL) in partnership with Instituto Comida do Amanhã through the EU-Brazil Dialogues program.

“Cities can be the epicenter of the changes we seek in order to accelerate the transformation of food systems through the implementation of intersectoral urban food programs and policies,” says Embrapa analyst Gustavo Porpino, leader of the project, whose results are presented in a research report available online.

The project selected five cities: Curitiba (PR), Maricá (RJ), Recife (PE), Rio Branco (AC), and Santarém (PA), all participants in the Urban Food Policy Laboratory (Luppa) program, for a case study of programs, actions, and public policies aimed at strengthening circular food systems. In these locations, interviews and data collection were carried out with the respective city governments, along with technical visits to public facilities and sites where food policies are implemented. In addition, in Curitiba, Recife, and Rio Branco, the organic waste from the cities’ open-air markets was analyzed using gravimetry in order to quantify food waste. Gravimetry is an analysis of the waste generated by open-air markets that categorizes what can be considered avoidable food waste.

According to Juliana Tângari, director of Instituto Comida do Amanhã, “the entry point [priority] of the food systems agenda varies from city to city. Sometimes it is fighting hunger, sometimes fighting food waste, or ensuring food supply, raising awareness about agroecology, or strengthening family farming.” Tângari stresses that “what matters is understanding how each priority theme can catalyze a transformation of the system as a whole.”

Mission brings Brazilian and European experiences with urban food systems closer together

The project also enabled representatives of the five Brazilian cities to take part in a technical mission to learn about urban food programs and policies implemented in five European Union cities: Valencia and Barcelona (Spain); Turin and Milan (Italy); and Ghent (Belgium). In Brussels, the delegation met with representatives of the European Commission.

“The project has brought Brazilian and European cities closer together, showing the importance that cities and their inhabitants have in the design and implementation of urban agendas,” says Noelia Barriuso, of the EU-Brazil Dialogues program. “We hope that the results achieved in this project can encourage the transformation of our cities, continuing the fight against food waste and ensuring the quality of life of citizens and future generations, both in lifestyle and in the structures of cities,” adds the European Union representative.

For Porpino, implementing permanent food programs and public policies requires technical officials with leadership skills and ongoing training. “The ‘people’ pillar is decisive for a robust and efficient food agenda,” Porpino says, noting that the report states that the first step in planning public policies is to build a technical team and keep it qualified.

The report also highlights the need for well-defined budgetary resources, legal frameworks, and the institutionalization of programs. “The public policies considered successful are those that have become a common good of society,” states an excerpt from the document.

According to Porpino, no less important, the report highlights intersectorality as the main governance model adopted in the cities participating in the project. The involvement of different municipal departments and arrangements with the participation of civil society, different levels of government, universities, and the productive sector are seen as relevant to the success of the urban food agenda.

Equally relevant is identifying and distinguishing which policies are about resilience (fighting food insecurity, for example) and which have the potential to transform the food system. This diagnosis should take place in the planning phase of the urban food agenda, which should also identify the territory’s vocations and opportunities.

Multilevel and democratic governance

Examples of how the government can facilitate so-called “social food retail,” a trend observed in several countries, are the Armazém da Família and Sacolão da Família in Curitiba (PR), and the Caminhão do Peixe (Fish Truck) in Maricá (RJ).

In these places, management is carried out through public-private partnerships, each with a management model aligned with the municipality’s profile and potential. But the ideal, according to the report, is to adopt a tripartite agenda of responsibility, that is, relationships and coordination with the state and federal levels of government and data sharing, especially data from Sisan, SUS, Suas, the School Census, and others.

“Good dialogue and coordination with the state and federal levels of government ensure agility and progress in local actions. Efficient management or coordination of data that enables both sound design and effective evaluation of local food policies is a very relevant aspect,” says an excerpt from the report.

Impacts generated by the project in Brazilian cities

The local diagnosis and the exchange of experiences between Brazilian and European cities sparked interest among some city governments in creating new initiatives and expanding existing programs.

In Curitiba, the city government is planning new actions to make use of organic waste from the Alto da Glória market and to connect local retailers with the municipal food bank. The City of Recife, for its part, developed a new project to encourage urban harvesting based on its experience with gravimetry at local open-air markets and markets, and in 2023 announced the opening of its first municipal food bank.

Connecting retail with food banks is also being considered by the City of Rio Branco. In Santarém, a diagnosis of Indigenous and quilombola production is already being prepared in order to direct more family-farm food to school meals.

Food security facilities

According to the study, setting up public Food and Nutrition Security (FNS) facilities should involve a multiplicity of initiatives to jointly fight hunger, tackle food waste, and generate income for the most vulnerable population.

Examples of such initiatives are food banks, low-cost public restaurants, solidarity kitchens, and community gardens, observed in all five cities studied.

For Porpino, low-cost public restaurants cannot be seen as a mere welfare policy. “When well implemented, in airy, well-lit spaces that convey well-being, these places can go beyond the mission of offering healthy food to the most vulnerable population and become places of social interaction for older adults and immigrants, or spaces for capacity building and training,” he notes.

The study also states that cities need to strengthen the quality management of their public FNS facilities, with a focus on the safety of food sold at open-air markets and municipal markets.

In Curitiba (PR), the project team was struck by the regulations requiring that animal protein be sold at public markets and fairs exclusively in refrigerated display cases, an initiative that, according to Porpino, should be adopted by other cities.

Composting and biogas

Another important point is the implementation of plans to reduce waste generation, giving new uses to what is left over from open-air markets and markets, for example, composting and biogas production.

“Open-air markets in cities such as Curitiba and Recife generate hundreds of tons of organic waste each year. Given that part of this waste can be considered avoidable food waste, implementing ‘urban harvests’ can be an alternative to avoid unnecessarily discarding food that is still safe for consumption,” the text points out.

Connecting retailers’ associations with food banks is identified as a solution to the high levels of food waste found in some regions. “It is a way to reduce retailers’ costs for disposing of organic waste and to help fight hunger and reduce waste,” says Porpino.

A systemic view of food

The study’s authors also advocate a systemic view of food in all government actions and programs. In this way, for example, the waste generated by a given program, such as a circuit of farmers’ markets, can be turned into inputs for the school garden program. In addition, the food bank can be connected to open-air markets, markets, and traditional retail through “urban harvesting” and incentives for food donations. “Even the waste from food banks, low-cost public restaurants, and schools can be put to some kind of use through solutions designed, for example, in innovation challenges,” Porpino suggests.

According to the study, achieving circularity requires this systemic view to assess interactions from farm to table. “Promoting sustainable local production is the starting point of the food production chain and, at the city level, can be strengthened by understanding the role and potential of public food procurement,” the study says.

“Encouraging agroecological production, as seen in Recife, is a way for the government to act in line with urban consumers’ desire for healthier food. Agroecology brings producers closer to consumers, generates income on the outskirts of cities, and strengthens the connection between agriculture, health, and nutrition,” says the study, which makes one final recommendation: define outcome indicators for all programs and policies implemented. “Monitoring food policies is the key to their success,” it concludes.

Waste measured in three state capitals

Curitiba – Waste gravimetry was carried out at four open-air markets in Curitiba (Feira Livre de Bigorrilho; Feira Livre de Ahú; Feira Livre do Jardim das Américas, and Feira Livre do Alto da Glória)

According to the report, unavoidable waste is the most prevalent, especially coconut, which accounts for almost 35% of all waste found across the markets.

As for avoidable waste, there was a considerable presence of tomatoes and oranges, which were the most frequent foods found at all the markets. Considering the 180 market stalls covered by the study, an average of 16.4 kg/stall was collected, of which 2.9 kg/stall was avoidable waste and 9.7 kg/stall was unavoidable waste. Total annual waste generation from open-air markets in the city of Curitiba was estimated at 869 tons.

“For Curitiba, there is an opportunity to expand composting of market waste for use in urban gardens,” the study says.

Recife – Waste analyses were carried out at the Afogados, Santa Rita, Cordeiro, and Encruzilhada open-air markets. Avoidable waste is the most prevalent, especially tomatoes, which accounted for almost 12% of all waste found across the markets, or 126 kg. At the Santa Rita market alone, in a single day of collection, 92 kg of tomatoes were collected.

As for unavoidable waste, there was a considerable presence of peels in general, at almost 254 kg. Considering the 171 market stalls studied, an average of 6.13 kg/stall was collected, of which 3.7 kg/stall was avoidable waste and 1.8 kg/stall was unavoidable waste.

There are 17 registered markets in Recife, held weekly, with a total of 2,900 stalls. Assuming all markets operate during the 52 weeks of the year, there are a total of 884 markets per year, totaling 150,800 stalls. Total annual waste generation from open-air markets in the city of Recife was estimated at 924.4 tons.

“For Recife, there is an opportunity to implement an urban harvesting program, which should involve sorting food that is safe for consumption and directing it, for example, to food banks and/or solidarity kitchens,” the study recommends.

Rio Branco – The analyses were carried out at the following points of sale: Feira Santa Inês; Feira Rui Lino; Mercado Elias Mansour, and Feira Estação Experimental. Gravimetry in Rio Branco was carried out after the 2023 flood period, but the markets had not yet fully resumed. The results showed that unavoidable waste is the most prevalent, especially peels in general.

As for avoidable waste, there was variation among the markets, and no single food was common to all four. However, considering the Mercado Elias Mansour and the Mercado da Estação Experimental market, fruit was the most commonly found food. Considering the 90 market stalls studied, an average of 3.21 kg/stall was collected, of which 0.842 kg/stall was avoidable waste and 1.4 kg/stall was unavoidable waste. Total annual waste generation from open-air markets in the city of Rio Branco is estimated at 49 tons.

Rio Branco has an extensive composting program (photo on the left), carried out at the Solid Waste Treatment Unit (Utre). At this site, a high volume of expired food discarded by the region’s supermarkets was identified. In 2022, supermarkets discarded an average of 111 tons of food per month at Utre, mostly rice, beans, pasta, and cookies. From January to June 2023, supermarkets in Rio Branco dumped 458 tons of dry food at Utre. The amount discarded at Utre does not include waste in the FLV (fruits, vegetables, and greens) category.

“Most of the waste generated in Brazilian cities consists of organic waste, including food scraps and green waste. The gravimetry results showed that, in the cities and markets studied, part of this waste could be avoided; that is, food that could have fulfilled its noble purpose of nourishing people but ends up being discarded,” says environmental scientist Fernanda Romero, technical coordinator of the gravimetry carried out at the open-air markets of Curitiba, Recife, and Rio Branco.

“Unavoidable waste, such as peels, mostly ends up in landfills, from which it could be diverted and recycled through composting. Curitiba and Rio Branco already have projects like this, and the compost produced is used in gardens. This contributes to mitigating emissions,” Romero emphasizes.