Comprehensive strategies for monitoring, preventing and reducing edible food waste in households

Care4food aims to co-create, validate, and deploy a comprehensive, citizen-driven strategy to monitor, prevent and reduce edible food waste (FW) at household level across the EU. By integrating behavioural science, affective computing, and AI-powered technologie, the project develops a harmonised measurement framework aligned with EU standards and policy priorities. A novel Interactive Public App Toolkit enables real-time and harmonised FW quantifiication, emotional insight detection, and personalised feedback, foostering behavioural change and supporting Member States in reporting obligations under the Waste Framework Directive. 

Through 2 large-scale campaigns in five 5 regions and 1 EU-wide implementation, Care4Food generates FAIR-compliant datasets and models behavioural (direct) and systemic (indirect) FW drivers using Structural Equation Modelling and Discrete Event Simulation. These insights inform the design of eco-friendly, low-input and efficient technological interventions tailored to different domestic environments and socio-demographic groups and policies recommendations to reduce/prevent edible FW in households, contributing to climate mitigation, food justice, and health equity.
 

Care4Food empowers citizens and stakeholders through inclusive engagement and builds a digital community around sustainable food practice. It supports the European Green Deal, Farm to Fork Strategy, and Food 2030 pathways by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, enhancing food system resilience, and promoting responsible consumption. The project’s multi-actor approach ensures scientific excellence, technological innovation, and societal relevance, delivering scalable solutions for a fair, healthy, and environment-friendly food system.
 

The project directly addresses the targeted topic and destination “Fair, healthy and environment-friendly food systems” by delivering harmonised FW measurement tools, validated behavioural models, and policy-relevant interventions.