Gruppo Felsineo presents the book of solidarity recipes “Goodness calls goodness”

The Bologna-based food group reaffirms its commitment to promoting inclusivity through two new initiatives that celebrate the richness of diversity, announced on the occasion of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities .

Zola Predosa (BO), 4 December 2024 – Sustainability and social inclusion are fundamental values for Gruppo Felsineo, which promotes governance aimed at enhancing the social role of business, supporting the integration of young people with fragilities. From these premises arise the two initiatives, presented by the Bologna food group on the occasion of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, to promote a more inclusive and diversity-sensitive society.

The first consists of a cookbook, with the evocative title “ Goodness calls goodness ”, which combines solidarity and taste through sustainable recipes, which tell the story of seasonality, respect for tradition and integration, created with the kids from the Anffas Center in Modiano, the social-welfare reality of Sasso Marconi (BO) with which the Bolognese food group has been collaborating since 2020. The volume was created with the support of the students   of the Luigi Veronelli Hotel Institute , who also took care of the nutritional comments that accompany each proposal.

Thirty-six recipes, the result of years of activity of the 'Fantasia e buona cucina' laboratory, which enhance all the flavor of inclusion by enhancing the correct nutritional balance between the animal proteins of the mortadella of Felsineo SpA Società Benefit and the vegetable proteins of the cold cuts and 100% plant-based proposals of FelsineoVeg Srl Società Benefit.

The cookbook, which is part of the Open Food Factory food education project, collects different types of recipes: those developed to enhance the favorite ingredients of the students of the Modiano Center; those designed to give value to the typical dishes of their countries of origin and the gastronomic proposals of the Veronelli students, who focus on seasonality and proximity of the ingredients (zero km). Each recipe is accompanied by a short caption that tells the inspiration, connecting it to its protagonist, and by the nutritional information written by the Veronelli students.

To extend the social inclusion project nationwide, Gruppo Felsineo has signed a memorandum of understanding with the SiR Consortium , founded in 2000 in Milan to promote social cooperation and foster inclusive and sustainable welfare, with particular attention to the most vulnerable groups. At the heart of the agreement, aimed at creating shared social value, is the integration of young people with fragilities who, thanks to the synergy between training and business, can access concrete employment opportunities in social catering and the food sector.

The partnership includes an educational experience through masterclasses and practical and innovative educational courses in the company. The goal is to develop skills and improve professionalism, helping to make the world of work more inclusive. The agreement also includes a focus on issues related to proper nutrition, thus placing itself within the Open Food Factory initiative, the food education hub of Gruppo Felsineo.

“We have always believed in the social role of companies and we are convinced that diversity is a source of enrichment – underlined Emanuela Raimondi, CEO of Gruppo Felsineo - The publication of the recipe book “Bontà chiama buonet” represents the realization of a social inclusion project that we care a lot about and that has involved us for several years. It is an extremely gratifying experience for us, which has allowed us to create concrete opportunities for integration, through the creation of healthy, tasty and balanced gastronomic proposals. We have therefore decided to extend this inclusiveness project at a national level, signing a memorandum of understanding with the SiR Consortium. The agreement aims to encourage the valorization of diversity by promoting the integration of young people with fragilities in the food and social catering sector”.

“Each masterclass - declared Salvatore Semeraro , President of the SiR Consortium - is a unique opportunity for meeting and growing for the kids of the SiR Professional Training Center, who can get to know the company “in class”, learn and experiment, together with their teachers, alongside those who live in the company every day. The collaboration with Gruppo Felsineo is therefore an important opportunity, the testimony that work inclusion comes from the concreteness of the meeting, from the direct transmission of skills and from mutual exchange, in which even those who are apparently more fragile have something to give”.

“The phrase I always start from is that of a father who said to the teacher who considered his son incapable of learning: 'If he doesn't learn... he teaches'. This axiom contains the profound value of the solidarity recipes project developed with Gruppo Felsineo, where cooking becomes a bridge for inclusion and the discovery of hidden abilities - added Beatrice Beni, Coordinator of Centro Modiano, Cooperativa Sociale Bologna Integrazione under the Anffas brand - Working with people with disabilities teaches you to listen, to be surprised and to understand new ways of relating. This book values diversity and shows how much it can transmit to us. The collaboration with Gruppo Felsineo represents an extremely important element in building a valuable dialogue for an increasingly inclusive community”.

“The collaboration with Gruppo Felsineo and Centro Modiano has been a concrete and formative experience, which has sensitized our students on ethical, inclusive and health issues – explains Simone Fogacci, Professor at Istituto Professionale Alberghiero Veronelli - Conceived as a research and innovation laboratory, our institute promotes integration and the valorization of diversity through good food and well-being. Thanks to partners like Gruppo Felsineo we can give students useful tools to face the world of work with high-value skills, while contributing to the growth of the community. This project is an example of how the school can integrate with the territory, training future professionals who are aware and attentive to social sustainability”.