Surplus vegetables and other regional supplies are becoming harder to sell due to the coronavirus crisis. Seeing an opportunity during the global pandemic, five partners have come together on a new project for producing soup, with an intriguing story: Robin Food. Farmer cooperative REO Veiling, social enterprise enVie, distributors Samenlevingsopbouw Riso Vlaams-Brabant and Depot Margo, and NGO Rikolto were able to set up a collaboration in less than two weeks thanks to an investment from EIT Food.

Transforming food surpluses
In the short term, the partners are aiming to distribute 20,000 liters of soup to communities, but in the coming months the partners hope to develop and offer other products through social grocery stores.

“As the objective of the project Robin Food is to transform food surpluses into healthy sustainable food, made accessible to vulnerable people and families, the idea of Robin Food came up, as a reference to the story of Robin Hood who supports the poor by ‘using’ the means of the most resourceful in society, Cecile Schmidt, Operations Manager & Communication enVie tells.

Robin Food is not just a short-term project, according to Schmidt. “It is a concept that can be expanded to other regions and countries: food surpluses and demand for food aid are a reality in most of Europe,” she notes.

“Producing soup with Robin Food gives us the opportunity to restart production in times of crisis and do what we do best: create tasty products with an environmental added value and provide work for people coming out of long-term unemployment,” explains Naomi Smith, General Manager at enVie.

The move is also intertwined with Innova Market Insights’ Top Trend for 2020: “Storytelling.”

Sustainability and corporate social responsibility are helping drive this trend. Provenance platforms enable brands to communicate a range of messages to the consumer, including taste, processing methods, cultural and traditional backgrounds, as well as the more obvious geographical origin. Consumers and manufacturers alike are increasingly focusing on ingredient provenance and brand storytelling platforms in order to emphasize the taste and quality of their products, as well as their uniqueness and sustainability efforts.

“As storytelling makes messages more relatable for the consumers, we think it’s important to make sure we show the consumer what Robin Food is and who the partners are. We are creating short videos of each step in the production of Robin Food soup,” Schmidt comments.

“Through these videos, people get to see the impact of the project in each step of the food system: buying surplus vegetables from the farmers; soup being produced at a social enterprise that supports people with finding jobs after long-term unemployment; and finally, supporting vulnerable families during times of crisis – and after,” she explains.

The surplus vegetables used in Robin Food soups include all vegetables: ugly, wonky or simply too many in volume to be sold at the vegetable auction, Schmidt details. “We buy the surplus vegetables that did not get sold at the conventional vegetable auction, at a minimum price. It is important to support the farmers and make sure they also get compensated for their work and crops,” she elaborates.

Moreover, the coronavirus pandemic is impacting the food system and its many stakeholders in the hospitality industry, restaurants, retail and food banks, Dr. Martine van Veelen, Director of EIT Food CLC West, tells.

“Through the Robin Food initiative, we raise awareness about the negative impacts, although some stakeholders benefit from the crisis [such as retailers], there are also a lot of stakeholders that suffer, which leads to a lot of food waste that is normally sold to restaurants or export. In addition, the economic crisis impacts a lot of people who are now more dependent on social care, including food banks,” Dr. van Veelen explains.

“Due to the economic shock caused by the COVID-19 crisis, we see a growing group of people who have too few resources to feed themselves and their families,” says Liesbeth Smeyers of Samenlevingsopbouw Riso Vlaams-Brabant. “As a result, food aid organizations and social grocery stores are seeing an increase in demand, while there is less surplus through supermarkets.” This is also noticeable in other parts of the country, she highlights.

Finding a way back from economic difficulties
Farmers are also facing difficulties having to deal with large volumes of surplus vegetables as a result of the crisis. “The loss of a significant part of our customers in Belgium and abroad, as well as an increasing volume of fresh fruits and vegetables at the start of the season, translate into a surplus of certain products,” explains Dominiek Keersebilck, Commercial Director at REO Veiling. “We are, therefore, very pleased to participate in the Robin Food project.”

The closure of the restaurant sector affects not only farmers, but also food processing companies like enVie. The coronavirus pandemic is changing the way the F&B industry operates, according to Schmidt. “This is different throughout the supply chain,” she notes. “More food and beverages are now being distributed through retailers, while there are also import/export difficulties. Harvesting is particularly difficult because of the lack of seasonal workers. Meanwhile, hotels, bars, restaurants and cafes are closed, while food delivery services are seeing an uptick.”

“It would be great if the food sector as a whole became more sustainable, more plant-based, more local,” adds Schmidt. Moreover, food waste has been a topic of major concern in recent months, with many consumers opting for produce that would traditionally go on to be “waste.”

Today, a lot of food is wasted due to the limited supply to horeca, harvesting and export problems. “Food is the most essential need of humankind, so we should not waste any food during any crisis,” asserts Schmidt.

Meanwhile, she underscores the importance of offering foods to underprivileged social communities. This is definitely a time wherby communities are supporting one another and it is always important to serve these groups of people, Schmidt highlights. “They were hit hard because normally the food banks receive a lot of surplus from the retailers, but due to hoarding there was nothing left for the food banks. Therefore, we needed to search for another way of supply and because other stakeholders in the supply chain have surpluses now, we made the connection.”

Accelerating the project

There is always food waste in some parts of the full food supply chain, so the idea already existed, according to Dr. van Veelen. “However, due to the coronavirus crisis the surpluses were more urgent, so the idea was catalyzed and could be introduced faster.”

The project’s concept can also be scaled to other regions and countries. “We are now looking for possibilities in the Netherlands and France,” he adds. The European Institute of Innovation and Technology in Food (EIT).has invested in the Robin Hood project. “We want to invest these freed up resources in structural initiatives which also offer a solution to respond fast to the immediate needs of the most deprived,” states Dr. van Veelen.

Rikolto, an independent NGO which partners with farmer organizations and food chains across Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America, proposed this project as a member of EIT Food and managed to mobilize a partnership in a short time. “We were already working behind the scenes with Samenlevingsopbouw Riso Vlaams-Brabant and fruit and vegetable wholesalers to transform their surpluses into finished products for social grocery stores,” explains Jo Vandorpe de Rikolto. “With this investment, everything is accelerating.”

Distributor Margo Depot was initially interested in the project as it offers healthy and affordable food. “What makes this project so valuable is the combination of social integration, poverty reduction, access to healthy food and the positive impact on the environment by saving food surpluses,” adds Karel Bollen of Margo Depot.

The economic model of Robin Food must also be consolidated. “We would like to offer the products in the “classic” trade circuit, at a slightly higher price, and make it possible for people with less means to buy the products at a reduced price at the social grocery store,” concludes Jo Vandorpe of Rikolto.