Less Left Over Takes the Stage at Seatrade
What if surplus food didn’t have to go to waste?
That was the question driving the Safety & Sustainability Theater at Seatrade Cruise Global this week, as Carnival Corporation’s “Less Left Over” food waste reduction strategy took center stage.
Our company and partners in this initiative shared how surplus meals and food from ships is being donated to communities in need – and what it really takes to make that work, port by port.
Moderated by Vicky Rey, vice president of government affairs, Latin America, the discussion brought together voices from across the full journey of the program: Carnival Cruise Line’ Schalkie Badenhorst, who offered a behind-the-scenes look at the operation discipline required on board; Sara Dotta of Costa Cruises, the cruise line that started this program; food bank partner Marco Lucchini of Fondazione Banco Alimentare; and Mayor Ron McNab of Roatan, Honduras – one of the newest destinations that has agreed to help build the support regulatory and distribution framework for food donations.
Sara shared how Costa helped pioneer the first surplus food donation model in Europe back in 2017 – a move that required navigating food safety laws, building trust with partners and rethinking how the value of surplus meals and food could be captured to help feed others.
“From the very beginning, Costa approached food waste as a systemic challenge, not something that could be solved with a single action,” Sara explained. “Deciding what to do was easier than understanding how to do it safely and legally, especially since it had never been done before. The good news was that in 2016, the Gadda Law was approved in Italy, which, under specific conditions, allowed prepared unserved food to be eligible for donation.”
Marco and Mayor McNab picked up the story from the ground level, reminding the audience how much this helps their communities, and that none of this works without strong local organizations and incredible coordination behind the scenes.
Today, our food donation program is active in 17 ports and communities across Europe and the Caribbean, with expansion into Latin America underway.
“When the right people come together, barriers can turn into pathways, and surplus food can become a force for good,” Rey noted.
