Letter from Aveiro

Hi everyone!

My name is Benedetta Freda, I’m 22 years old, I’m Italian, and I’m currently in Aveiro, Portugal, where I’m participating in a European Solidarity Corps volunteer project. My project, developed within the DCTR association and supported by the Italian organization Giosef Italy, focuses on creating an awareness campaign about food waste. The goal is to spread knowledge and raise awareness about an issue that is still too often underestimated.

I arrived in Portugal on the first of May and immediately felt at ease in the city of the moliceiros, affectionately called “the little Venice” by the Portuguese. The first two months were dedicated to planning the campaign, accompanied by in-depth research that helped me better understand the issue.

Reading academic journal articles, looking for series that address the topic in creative ways, and gathering reliable data and reports from the European Union allowed me to analyze food waste from a deeper perspective. I started by focusing on Target 12.3 of the 2030 Agenda, which aims to halve global food waste.

The campaign I’m developing is informative, engaging, and dynamic: it includes educational carousels, humorous content, emotional posts, practical tips, and Reels enriched with interviews and creative ideas. I decided to launch the project on Instagram, as the primary target audience is young people aged between 17 and 30, and Instagram is a great platform for visual, accessible, and direct communication.
The page is called Just Crumbs, not a random choice, but a deeply symbolic one. The image of crumbs has a double meaning: on the one hand, it reminds us that even crumbs matter and should not be wasted; on the other, it conveys a message of unity, because even though we may feel small and insignificant on our own, together we can truly make a difference.

Just Crumbs is not just an informative page, but a community. It aims to involve people and make them feel part of the change, because to change things, we first need to understand them at their roots. In an era where we’re constantly bombarded with conflicting information, feeling part of something genuine is not to be taken for granted.

I’ve always been very creative, curious, and interested in international topics. These qualities led me to study Communication and Media and to live abroad. Last year, I did my Erasmus in Madrid, a city I will always carry in my heart. I lived in the Spanish capital for a year, where I became fluent in the language and developed a passion for the world of information through a course called Documentación e investigación.
At the end of the course, I wrote a thesis on a topic close to my heart: the relationship between the media and the mafia. I analyzed how the mafia is portrayed by television and newspapers, deconstructing the myths and legends that shape the collective imagination.

My passion for information comes from a deep desire to seek the truth. I firmly believe that social media, when used mindfully, can be a powerful tool for spreading information, even though they also expose us to the risks of misinformation and fake news. In an increasingly digital world, we must learn to communicate in new, authentic, and creative ways.

I’m aware that discussing such a sensitive topic like food waste in English might be a barrier for some, but I hope the page can reach as many people as possible nonetheless. I want people to understand the problem, the environmental impact of food waste, the laws being implemented, and the reasons we waste so much, often due to misinformation. I hope this project grows and gains more visibility in the coming days. As the project name itself says: alone we are just crumbs, but together we can truly make a difference!