Soulfood is a project with the aim of fighting against food loss and waste and helping to guarantee the right to food. Over the past two years, we have been exploring technology-driven solutions to prevent losses and channel surplus agricultural production to social initiatives.

The project began in October 2023 and has a duration of two years. It is led by the Tarragona Provincial Council and has 9 partners from 4 European countries: Lithuania, Romania, Spain and Greece.

What have we done so far?

We have identified the needs of collaborating producers regarding the management of their losses and surpluses, with the goal of channelling them to social initiatives. To achieve this, a series of interviews have been carried out, joint meetings have been held with producers in the different territories, and a final report has been produced that includes the main barriers identified. At Espigoladors, we played an active role in both the interviews — as most of the producers are part of our network — and in organizing and facilitating the meetings.
Espigoladors has also led the third work package. As part of this task, we produced a report on best practices across Europe that connect primary producers with social initiatives. The report was later adapted for broader dissemination. The final version will be published very soon.

Coming soon: the full report

During 2024, the consortium’s face-to-face meetings were held in Lithuania and Romania. Three events (mutual learning events) were also held in Catalonia, Lithuania and Romania, where producers and social initiatives were involved to address the needs of each of the actors and identify which functionalities the digital tool should have to facilitate the food donation process.
With the research that has been carried out around the identification of the barriers that producers have when channelling agricultural surpluses to social food distribution entities, as well as the identification of good practices at European level, a digital tool has been developed to facilitate the donation process. Currently, the tool is being tested by 8 different producers in Catalonia and Lithuania, and more than 11,000 kilograms of surplus food have already been redistributed to social initiatives.
We have also focused on communicating the project’s progress and outcomes. As part of the fourth work package, micro-awareness events were held in each of the partner countries during the months of March and April 2025. At the same time, we have developed various communication materials in different formats, including a leaflet, a roll-up banner, and a series of visual pieces for social media dissemination.
On April 24, 2025, the consortium meeting was held in Athens, Greece. During this session, we reviewed the progress of the active work packages, shared evaluations of the micro-awareness events held in each partner country and explored different options for ensuring the continuity of the project — particularly regarding funding and the future ownership of the digital tool. We also had the opportunity to participate in a gleaning activity in Athens, in collaboration with the Boroume initiative!

Next steps:

In the coming months, at Espigoladors we will work on the following project activities:

Finalization of the third work package with the preparation of a report containing the work done and the research findings.
The evaluation and closure of the testing phase of the digital platform, with the goal of delivering a fully functional and validated tool.
Dissemination of the project and its results throughnational and international webinars.
Organization and execution of the project’s final closing event, which will take place in the city of Reus at the beginning of July.