Tampere cuts early childhood meal waste with system integration

Aamulehti reports that Tampere has sharply reduced daycare food waste after a new system integration that helps the city predict meal needs more accurately, cutting unnecessary lunches by 48,500 over five months.

The paper says the change began in spring 2025, when the city introduced automatic data transfer between the early childhood education e-Vaka system and the food ordering service Aromi. With the integration, attendance information and special diets update directly for food services, reducing the amount of food prepared when children are not present. Over five months, 48,500 lunches that would previously have been prepared in vain were not served, and the city estimates savings of more than €171,000, visible in both the city’s finances and the amount of biowaste.

Aamulehti adds that the city attributes part of the improvement to more precise planning, including the ability to account for the exact times children are scheduled to attend. Early childhood education director Elli Rasimus notes that about one in five parents report that a child will come but the child ultimately does not. While the city has not been able to eliminate all waste, it aims to use leftover food when possible: staff can buy surplus food, and Voimia directs about nine percent of its leftover meal production to food aid and youth centres. Some food cannot be donated for hygiene and safety reasons, so accurate advance notification remains the key measure for further waste reduction.