FoodCLIC contributes to first Allianz Summit on food waste and poverty in Vienna
On 19 May 2026, the first Allianz Summit of the newly established Alliance against Food Waste and Poverty took place in Vienna. Initiated by Die Tafel Österreich, the event brought together around 100 participants to exchange ideas on reducing food waste, improving the redistribution of surplus food, and tackling food poverty. The aim of the Alliance is to foster practical cooperation and joint solutions by involving stakeholders from across the entire food supply chain, while addressing social, environmental and economic sustainability together. More than 40 organisations, companies, cities, and municipalities have already joined the initiative.
The event was organised in cooperation with the FoodCLIC project. In this framework, Ignazio Corrao and Balázs Cseh from the European Food Banks Federation (FEBA) contributed to the programme by presenting the future of urban food surplus redistribution. Their presentation highlighted new logistics models that can enable the more effective involvement of small and medium-sized donors, such as bakeries, small shops, catering businesses, schools, canteens, hotels, and restaurants. It also highlighted recent developments in the EU policy framework, with a particular focus on the role of the revised Waste Framework Directive.
The presentations were followed by World Café and roundtable-style discussions. In the workshop facilitated by FEBA, participants discussed the opportunities and challenges of food surplus redistribution models in urban environments. Recurring topics included logistical complexity, the need for digital platforms, and the question of who should bear the costs of developing, operating, and maintaining these redistribution systems in the long term.
Participants underlined that more effective redistribution of urban food surplus requires stronger local cooperation, pilot projects, a more active role for cities and municipalities, and sustainable financing for logistics and digital solutions. The Allianz Summit provided an important opportunity for stakeholders from different sectors to find common ground and jointly explore solutions that can reduce food waste while strengthening access to food for people in need.
This blog was written by Balazs Cseh from the European Food Banks Federation
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FOODCLIC. We are connecting people, food, policy & places.
FoodCLIC is a four-year project funded by the EU. The project runs from September 2022 to February 2027. The acronym FoodCLIC stands for 'integrated urban FOOD policies – developing sustainability Co-benefits, spatial Linkages, social Inclusion and sectoral Connections to transform food systems in city-regions
