Fuori di Zucca
Selling food produced by local producers directly to consumers
Description
Established in 2017, Fuori di Zucca (Eng. - Out of Pumpkin) is an organization that coordinates a Solidarity Purchasing Group (GAS in Italian) in the centre of the city of Perugia, Italy, without financial gain. GAS is run by volunteer consumers, and so 100 percent of the purchasing price from sales goes to the producer. The farmers are small-scale and are located close to Perugia, and follow ethical and sustainable farming methods. An organic label is not a prerequisite for Fuori di Zucca, as these farmers already produce organically, and consumers are actively involved along the chain. Every Friday, a WhatsApp message containing a Google Form is sent out by Fuori di Zucca to all GAS members, and users have until the following Monday to select the products they want on a Google Form, after which they receive a confirmation email. On Wednesday evening, the consumers meet the farmers to collect their orders, paying in cash or through electronic payments.
Technology
Purchasing transactions between the consumer and producer through Fuori di Zucca are controlled by a group of young activists using two online tools: WhatsApp and Google Modules. These easily accessible tools facilitate the central management of the mailing list and food orders, while facilitating the standardization of procedures and reducing the costs and risks associated with transaction errors by 1) preparing the list of food offers with farmers; 2) selecting the food options (ordering); 3) validating the orders; 4) passing on the orders to the producers; and 5) carrying out food distribution, as well as any other general communication requirements (e.g. the addition of new producers to the group or listing available products on the platform list). The data collected during these transactions are stored in a common Cloud database. Fuori di Zucca also makes use of such social media platforms as Facebook and Instagram for the promotion of products and to manage its relationship with the connected community.
Target
Currently, 80 consumers (individuals, families or businesses) and ten producers make use of Fuori di Zucca. The group of volunteers supporting the initiative is mixed in terms of gender, age and geographical origin.
Business model
Membership of Fuori di Zucca is free for both producers and consumers, as the labour involved in maintaining the network, which makes use of two simple digital technologies, depends on the good will of young volunteers and the free space offered by the municipality of Perugia.
Impact
The combination of instant messaging (WhatsApp group) and Google Modules has helped overcome the challenge of using only emails for the collection of food orders in Fuori di Zucca, according to an article published on ARC2020.eu (accessed from www.arc2020.eu/italy-digitalisation-short-food-chain-and-sovereignty-fuori-di-zucca/). The same website states that since these two tools were introduced, Fuori di Zucca oversaw EUR 31 799.83 in total consumer expenditures in 2020, almost doubling the amount in 2018, when the system made use only of email, although much of this increase can be attributed to the specific circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of purchases and the total expenditures are not the only parameters through which the impact of Fuori di Zucca. Social should be assessed, as there are also cultural and moral aspects that can be considered, such as the increased awareness of consumers related to food seasonality, education in traditional food recipes, and transparency in the origin of food products. With the support of digital tools, Fuori di Zucca can play an important educational and governance role in sustainable food consumption and production.
Partners
Small-scale farmers
Four Betters
Better production
Better nutrition
Better environment
Better life
