How might we create communities that waste nothing on their plates?
Through research into this broad topic, speaking with young Italians, experienced home-cook nonnas, and organisations such as Cooperativa Alchemia, the team uncovered three key insights: there is a generational divide in Italian cooking habits, with younger people preferring to eat out; the perception and reality of food surplus often leads to carelessness in using ingredients fully; and tangible, multi-sensory experiences with food empower people to shift their default eating behaviours.
Italy’s tradition of cucina povera, literally “poor kitchen” or peasant cooking, offers a clear lens into this opportunity. This culinary heritage, born of resourcefulness and frugality, relies on simple, local, seasonal ingredients used in their entirety. Given this rich tradition and the decline in home cooking among Bergamo’s youth, the team identified a crucial opportunity: to inspire young Italians to preserve their culinary heritage by embracing resourcefulness as a core part of their relationship with food, laying the groundwork for communities that truly consume everything.
Cucina di Nonna, or “Nonna’s Kitchen”, is a university club where students and experienced home-cook nonnas come together weekly to cook and share meals, fostering a community centred on the heart of Italy, its cuisine. The club is supported by a network of established organisations: Cooperativa Alchemia provides the kitchen and dining space; the University of Bergamo connects the student community; Dispensa Sociale supplies recovered surplus food from supermarkets; and Cesarine, a nationwide network of local home cooks, offers a hub of nonnas eager to share their knowledge and passion.
While these institutions form the foundation of the programme, it is sustained by the students themselves. Membership requires a set number of volunteering hours each month, fulfilled through rotating roles such as student coordination, ingredient collection and inventory, event planning, cooking alongside nonna, preparation and cleanup, or documenting recipes for the growing Cucina di Nonna online cookbook.
