CESARE – Reggio Emilia Food Solidarity Center is a project promoted by Caritas Diocesana Reggio Emilia-Guastalla with the support of the Bank of Italy and in collaboration with Politecnico di Milano (Polifactory – Department of Design, Politecnico di Milano; Department of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering), aimed at designing a Digital Food Tracking System to support the food donation supply chain.

The project originates from the redevelopment of two hangars located in Via dell’Aeronautica 4 in Reggio Emilia, which will become the new logistics hub for the collection, storage and distribution of food donated by local agri-food supply chains.

 

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CESARE aims to evolve the current assistance-based model, moving beyond an emergency-driven and redistributive logic to build a true urban food welfare infrastructure capable of promoting the right to adequate food from nutritional, cultural and environmental perspectives.

During 2026, Politecnico di Milano will support Caritas in the development of an advanced Digital System composed of:

• a digital platform for managing and visualising food flows;
• a smart gate system using RFID and barcode technologies for real-time monitoring of products entering and leaving the logistics hub;
• an Artificial Intelligence tool supporting food sorting and the composition of food parcels.

The project combines research, design, technology and social innovation to build new models of collaboration among third-sector organisations, citizens, distributors and actors within the agri-food supply chain.