Alimenta

Duration: 01/09/2014 - on going

Scientific Coordinator: Cristian Campagnaro

Project Type: Non-commercial collaborative agreement 

PoliTO Role: Project partner

Alimenta is a flexible economic measure that funds initiatives to combat food poverty experienced by homeless people staying in municipal shelters in Turin. 

Coordinated by the research group of the Social Design Lab of the Polytechnic University of Turin (DAD), the project was launched in 2014, supported and sponsored by the Fondazione Progetto Arca non-profit organisation. It promotes a series of actions co-produced by a network of three social cooperatives in nine city facilities, promoting food security and addressing both the material and redistributive dimensions of food, as well as the health, social and psychological dimensions related to the individual and the community.

The researchers led a co-design process with local stakeholders, adopting a systemic and human-centred approach and defining three areas of action:

1. The first supports cooperatives in sourcing resources to prepare and distribute meals in shelters, focusing on food quality and variety.
2. The second aims to empower homeless people throughout the entire food experience, through collaborative workshops and capability building. 
3. The third concerns a series of micro-projects aimed at testing new responses to the food needs of beneficiaries. 

Alimenta reaches approximately 270 beneficiaries every day and continuously involves 15 stakeholders, including institutions, associations and social cooperatives, helping to improve people's well-being by consolidating a local system capable of enhancing the skills of all actors. 

The project is a tool for exploring food poverty; it highlights the need for a broader city policy that provides a structural response to the critical issues that still exist in the daily lives of homeless people.

Involved Structure

• DAD, Department of Architecture and Design

Partners

• Progetto Arca Non-Profit Foundation
• Turin Polytechnic University
• Cooperativa Animazione Valdocco
• Stranaidea Impresa Sociale 
• Cooperativa Sociale P.G. Frassati Onlus 
• Turin City Council Service for Adults in Difficulty and Homeless People

Location

• Shelter Homes in Via Giorgio Ghedini, Via Ghiacciaie, Via Carrera, Via Reiss Romoli, Corso Tazzoli, Piazza Marco Aurelio, Corso Sebastopoli, Via Sidoli, Turin (TO)

Project Team

• Cristian Campagnaro (DAD), full professor and scientific project coordinator
• Raffaele Passaro (DAD), research fellow, senior designer and project facilitator
• Giorgia Curtabbi (DAD), research fellow, senior designer and project facilitator
• Martina Leo (DAD), junior designer
• Massimo Petrantoni (Cooperativa Animazione Valdocco), cooperative activity coordinator for the Alimenta project 
• Matteo Forchini (Stranaidea Impresa Sociale), cooperative activity coordinator for the Alimenta project
• Giuseppe Solei (Cooperativa Sociale P.G. Frassati Onlus), cooperative activity coordinator for the Alimenta project

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

1. No poverty 

2. Zero hunger

3. Good health and well-being 

10. Reduced inequalities 

11. Sustainable cities and communities

Link

• Campagnaro, Cristian; Passaro, Raffaele; Curtabbi, Giorgia (2023) Alimenta: A design-led systemic action against homelessness-related food poverty. In: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF FOOD DESIGN, pp. 1-31. ISSN 2056-6522 

• Passaro, Raffaele; Campagnaro, Cristian; Leo, Martina (2024) Design, povertà alimentare e persone in condizione di senza dimora. Strategie co-progettate di contrasto al fenomeno. In: Design per la Diversità, Pescara (ITA), 12-13 Giugno 2023, pp. 110-120. ISBN: 978-88-943380-1-0

• Passaro, Raffaele; Campagnaro, Cristian (2023) Design vs Povertà alimentare. Nuove soluzioni con, per, attraverso il cibo nel contesto dei servizi di contrasto all’homelessness. In: Atlante del Cibo di Torino Metropolitana Rapporto 4/2023 / Allegretti V.,Genova C., Toldo A., Torino, Atlante del Cibo Torino Metropolitana, pp. 118-123. ISBN: 978-88-7590-283-4