As part of the project “Capacity Building for the European Green Deal, according to the Measures of the Local Community” implemented by the Food Waste Prevention Centre – FWAPC (CEPOH) with partners Consumer – Society for the Protection of Consumers in Croatia, Centre for Consumer Education and Information, and Croatia Red Cross – City Red Cross Society Osijek, a Manual for Food Donation in Crisis Situations and Crisis Communication was made and presented in public in Osijek.

About the manuals:

1. Manual for Food Donation in Crisis Situations

Food donation is extremely important in crisis situations such as earthquakes, floods, and other crisis situations that affect communities, but when donating, it is important to obey certain rules in order to preserve the food and protect human health. Experts for food waste prevention and food safety, consumer organizations, and an important organization that has been working with beneficiaries in food distribution during crisis situations for decades recognized the importance of giving simple instructions and advice for safe and successful food donation in crisis situations and summarized them into a manual. We are currently in a decade that is struggling with food waste because Croatia, just like the other members of the European Union, accepted the goal to reduce food waste by 50 percent by 2030 which now adds up to 286.379 tons or 71 kilograms per capita and that is already quite a challenge. We believe that this manual can contribute to the reduction of food waste.

*Food Donation in Crisis Situations Manual* (CROATIAN)

2. Manual for Crisis Communication

Considering the frequent crisis situations that affect communities, we wanted to prepare clear and simple guidelines for crisis communication that should primarily strengthen the capacities of civil society organizations but also aid the citizens that wish to handle crisis situations much better. The manual covers the current protection and rescue system in the Republic of Croatia, and the basic guidelines and principles for successful crisis communication dedicated to organizations. Factors that affect the level and form of communication and the choice of recommended tools and canals were additionally investigated, during which an example of communication about food risk was used since this topic is extremely sensitive and always popular.

*Crisis Communication Manual* (CROATIAN)

About the project:

The project “Capacity Building for the European Green Deal, according to the Measures of the Local Community” started on February 16, 2022, with a total duration of 15 months. The total amount is 442,494.47 HRK, co-financed by the European Social Fund (with a contribution of 376,120.30 HRK), and the State budget – Department for association funding (with 66,374.17 HRK).
The lead partner is the Food Waste Prevention Centre – CEPOH from Zagreb with partners: Consumer – Society for the Protection of Consumers in Croatia from Vrbovsko, Centre for Consumer Education and Information from Bilje, and Croatia Red Cross – City Red Cross Society Osijek. The associate project partners are experts from the Croatian Agency for Agriculture and Food (HAPIH) from Osijek.

Through this project, we want to educate and strengthen the representatives of civil society organizations for direct operations in crisis situations, which also includes the publication of two manuals. Through webinars, we will additionally educate and strengthen local associations and citizens’ initiatives to implement activities that will ensure services of general interest adapted to new situations, for citizens.

*Leaflet about the project* (CROATIAN)