In the 2 Seas area - as elsewhere in the world- tons of food are wasted on a daily basis and the number of people experiencing food insecurity is increasing. Moreover, still a lot of people far from the labour market struggle to find meaningful jobs. Flavour turns this challenge into an opportunity by giving new life to food surplus, either by redistributing it to people in vulnerable situations or by processing it into new foods with longer shelf life.

The Distribution Platforms of Milieu&Werk, ODC and Fareshare Sussex are already up and running. Food Distribution Centers (FDCs) are logistical units that collect and redistribute food surplus to people living in food insecurity. Mechelen and Brugge will launch their FDCs early and mid 2020, building on the lessons learned from other partners.

Since there is so much food surplus, FLAVOUR also works on new solutions - beyond redistribution- to valorise food surplus in the best way, i.e. for "human consumption”. Therefore 5 partners are developing new products with a longer shelf life. These partners have identified what kind of products are often "wasted" in their region and what new products can be made of it. In 2020 a final choice (based on market demand; feasibility of production, etc...) will be made.

In the UK, the FLAVOUR partners made Pumpkin Gnocchi at a community outreach event in Brighton in Nov 2019. This was a testcase in processing, in response to the huge pumpkin and squash surpluses after Halloween. During the lunch local people learned about the plans for processing and how they can be involved. Pumpkin Gnocchi may become a product made at scale by one of Flavour's processing pilots.

In France, preservation and preparation was done to make fish soup. Collecting, processing and redistributing food is quite labour intensive and asks for flexibility - an ideal setting to train people to acquire new skills. Flavour's training and coaching trajectory focusses on people far from the labour market (i.e. 6 months or more unemployed).

Food has an enormous power: it unites people, it is fun to work with and a way to connect with people. When valorising surplus food, one adds the dimension of meaningfulness to the job. We compiled a report on best practices in the sector and several partners visited the Sofea Distribution Center and Cafe from Crisis in Oxford and learned about their training approach. We are now incorporating the insights into our training program, due to be field tested next year.