Costa has expanded its food donation program to Barcelona with an agreement with Banc dels Aliments to distribute extra food that is not served aboard.

Costa said that across its fleet, it prepares some 54 million meals a year, and has developed this project as a way of limiting food waste.

That has also included training kitchen staff, adding scales in the galleys to help standardize servings and other initiatives. 

The company has also developed an awareness campaign onboard, Taste don’t Waste, which encourages responsible behavior, especially in the buffet area, the company said.

Despite that, some prepared food is still not served to guests, and the Italian line has been donating that food in select ports as part of the 4GOODFOOD program. 

Cities included Savona, Civitavecchia, Marseille, Bari and Palermo, and now Barcelona.

The food is placed in aluminum containers which are sealed and labeled for traceability and are kept in cold refrigerated rooms until delivery. In Barcelona, the containers are then handed over to the Banc dels Aliments volunteers who distribute them to different associations: Fundació Acollida i Esperança and the Hogar Nuestra Señora de Lourdes, which, in turn, offer the collected food to people in need.

“At Costa, we understand that it is essential to recognize the indispensable value of food and today we can take a new step in the fight against food waste. In this sense, and in accordance with the objectives set out in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, we intend to halve the surplus food generated aboard our ships by 2020, ten years before the United Nations’ established date. We are very grateful to the Banc dels Aliments de Barcelona for making it possible in Barcelona, the most important port in the Mediterranean, and we are confident that the collaboration will be a success,” said Stefania Lallai, director of sustainability and external relations for Costa.