A Boston official is headed to Milan to study how the Italian city built a world-renowned food-waste reduction system — and if those efforts could be replicated in the Hub.
What’s happening: Laura Alves, Boston’s manager of strategic initiatives, is attending a three-day technical academy in Milan in late June. Boston is one of 10 U.S. cities sending representatives as part of the Natural Resource Defense Council’s Food Matters initiative.
Why it matters: Boston officials and advocates say there’s a huge need to reduce food waste. But it’s unclear how the city will rescue and redistribute food waste to hungry Bostonians.
The NRDC will help cities research and implement food waste reduction strategies during a year-long partnership.
Of note: Milan launched its first food waste hub in 2019 and became the first major city to enforce a city-wide food waste policy that involved public agencies, private businesses and other institutions.
Milan’s initiative won the Earthshot Prize in 2021. At the time, the city was recovering roughly 260,000 meals worth of food a year.
