As a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy since 2019, Afyonkarahisar (Turkey) has committed itself to utilizing eco-friendly means and measures to support its activities related to cultural and creative fields. Recently, the city launched the Food Waste Reduction Project to further raise awareness as well as mobilize its inhabitants on topics related to sustainable food systems and zero waste approaches.

The project has been developed and implemented by the Afyonkarahisar Municipality in close cooperation with the British Embassy in Turkey, the Sheffield Municipality (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland), the Zafer Development Agency and the Afyonkarahisar Provincial Directorate of Environment.

With the aim to raise awareness about the importance of food waste reduction and recycling, the project includes a diverse set of activities to encourage the exchange of good practices, such as result-oriented field studies, informative and didactic events, and webinars. Specific activities are also foreseen to be organized to discuss on how to alleviate the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the food production chain.

As an outcome, the project also plans to launch a Food Waste Recycling Roadmap, to be developed through the inputs received via the field studies and surveys on food classification and zero waste. The main outcomes of the field studies are also expected to support applications from local stakeholders for national, international, and other grants.