La Seu d'Urgell installs food surplus vending machine

La Seu d'Urgell has installed a new vending machine designed to distribute surplus food from school cafeterias. Located in the lobby of the Les Monges building, the machine provides meals prepared in the kitchen of the Institut Joan Brudieu.

The initiative is part of the Rexcatèring project, which aims to prevent food waste and facilitate citizen access to quality food. This marks the fifth such machine installed in Catalonia, following a similar implementation at the Institut Escola Bellver de Cerdanya.

The system, modeled after a successful program in the Basque Country, includes specialized equipment such as a temperature chiller to rapidly cool food from 65 to 4 degrees Celsius, a heat sealer for containers, and a thermal printer for labeling. All consumables used are compostable. An integrated IT platform tracks generated surpluses and collected rations to help optimize future meal production.

Funded with approximately 11,000 euros, the project is supported by the Department of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food, in collaboration with the Zero Waste Foundation (FRC) and the Aproveitem els Aliments platform. For the first year, the service will be free of charge, with a symbolic price planned for the future.