In the United States (U.S.), up to 40% of the entire food supply is lost or wasted, which contributes to negative environmental, economic, and social outcomes, with the majority of food waste occurring in the retail and consumer sectors of the food supply chain. Concurrently, 10.5% of U.S. households experienced food insecurity in 2019. Food insecurity rates are higher among individuals with low income and disproportionately affects ethically and racially diverse people living in poverty. Diverting excess food from retail and institutional settings to people in need is one method to reduce food waste and enhance individual, household, and community food security. This PhD dissertation describes four studies that explored food waste management in the U.S. among households with low-income and within U.S. food pantries, which are a critical component of the emergency food system. Study 1 consisted of a systematic review that examined differences in food waste attitudes and practices among consumers of across income levels. Study 2 was a quantitative research methods approach to examine food waste attitudes and practices of SNAP-eligible households (n=17). Study 3 was a cross-sectional quantitative approach to examine the impact of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic on food waste management within U.S. food pantries (n=290). Study 4 assessed the feasibility of food pantries in Virginia (n=68) to implement marketing-mix and choice-architecture (MMCA) strategies within their food pantries given the changes they had to make in their food distribution models in response to COVID-19 physical distancing requirements. Collectively, the studies described in this PhD dissertation address knowledge gaps and may be used to inform policies and initiatives to increase food security and decrease food waste among households with low-income and organizations aimed at serving them. / Doctor of Philosophy / Food waste in the U.S. is a major challenge that impacts the environment, economy, and society. The largest amounts of food waste are generated within food retail and consumer household settings. Concurrently, food insecurity, which is defined as obtaining and having access to enough food for an adequate, nutritious diet, is also another complex food systems challenge in the U.S. Food insecurity rates are higher among people with low income and disproportionately affects ethnically and racially diverse people. The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic placed further pressure on these two food systems challenges. Diverting excess, wholesome food from retail and institutional settings to people with hunger is a preferred method to mitigate both food waste levels and food insecurity rates. The U.S. emergency food system, which is a network of food recovery organizations that aim to receive excess food from retail settings and redistribute the food to people with hunger, play a pivotal role in addressing these two challenges. This PhD dissertation described four studies that address these two challenges. While this dissertation examined food waste management, the first half of the dissertation explored this topic within households and the second half explored food waste management within food pantries, which are a critical component to the U.S. emergency food system. Study 1 utilized a systematic procedure to review previously published consumer food waste research. The purpose of this study was to examine differences in food waste attitudes and practices among consumers of various income levels. Study 2 used a survey to examine food waste attitudes and practices of households eligible for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. Study 3 explored the impact of COVID-19 physical distancing requirements on food waste management within U.S. food pantries. Lastly, study 4 explored the feasibility of food pantry staff/volunteers on implementing behavioral economics strategies, which are changes to a setting that can promote selection of a certain food item, within their food pantry. Collectively, the studies described in this PhD dissertation address knowledge gaps and may inform policies and initiatives to mutually increase food security and decrease food waste among households with low-income and organizations aimed at serving them.

La tesi di dottorato è stata sviluppata all'interno del progetto nazionale Valorvitis ed è suddivisa in due parti. La prima riguarda la caratterizzazione chimica di sei estratti di vinacce d’uva ottenute diverse varietà di uva: tre a bacca rossa( Pinot Noir, Barbera e Nebbiolo) e tre a bacca bianca (Moscato, Muller Thurgau e Chardonnay). Ogni estratto è stato caratterizzato per contenuto e composizione in composti fenolici. La seconda attività consiste nello studio di un metodo alternativo di estrazione-purificazione basato sull'impiego di Gas Aphron Colloidali (CGAs) con la finalità di ridurre i costi di processo, la quantità di solvente da utilizzare durante la fase di estrazione e, allo stesso tempo, aumentare il grado di purezza dell’estratto in termini di contenuto polifenolico. / The present PhD thesis work was carried out under the framework of the Valorvitis.Extracts have been obtained from different red (Pinot Noir, Barbera and Nebbiolo) and white (Moscato, Muller Thurgau and Chardonnay) grape marcs and quantitatively analysed for the content of total phenolics, tannins, anthocyanins, cinnamic acids, flavonoids, flavonols, sugars (glucose and fructose) and for the anti-oxidant power (AOP). A new extraction-purification process based on CGAs application has been investigated. CGAs were first reported by Sebba (1987) as micro bubbles, with dimension among 10–100 μm, composed of a gaseous inner core surrounded by a thin surfactant film, which are created by intense stirring of a surfactant solution above its critical micellar concentration. Surfactants are able to catch phenolics thanks to both electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions depending on the surfactant (ionic or non-ionic) and on the phenolic compound. In this project the low-cost non-ionic food grade surfactant Tween 20 was used.

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2014 / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: As the global population grows and more countries industrialise, waste streams will grow proportionately. Current waste management practices and product manufacturing processes dictate that a large proportion of waste ends up in a landfill or incinerator. The predominant manufacturing design is a linear, one-way model that extracts resources for manufacture, which eventually end up in a landfill or incinerator, rendered useless. This is an unsustainable use of resources, not only of the ones that were extracted to manufacture the product, but also of the land used to dump waste. Along with this goes the increasingly significant issue of food waste and the issues of global hunger and food insecurity. It is estimated that globally one third of all food that is produced is wasted, equalling a total of 1.3 billion tonnes of food waste a year. Wastage of food causes a loss of potentially valuable food sources, or a potential resource for other processes, such as composting or energy generation. The poor are normally the first affected by limited or dwindling resources, and as yet, there are no significant signs of poverty alleviation. Worldwide, there is a proliferation of informal settlements, or slums, and how to deal with these settlements has formed part of international political and societal discourse for a long time. In South Africa, policies dictate that informal settlements should undergo an incremental, in situ upgrading process, where possible. Although this marks a positive development from the previous housing policy, substantial uptake on the ground has as yet not occurred. Consequently, this study attempted to combine the issues of waste management, in particular of food waste, and incremental upgrading of informal settlements through a transdisciplinary case study that focuses on upgrading the food waste management system in Enkanini, an informal settlement in Stellenbosch, South Africa. A waste characterisation study undertaken by Stellenbosch Municipality showed that food waste makes up a substantial part of the waste stream generated in Enkanini. As informal settlements often lack adequate waste collection services, the food waste poses a health risk by breeding pathogens and attracting pests. Through a transdisciplinary approach, an alternative food waste treatment method was piloted in Enkanini in partnership with Stellenbosch Municipality and Probiokashi (Pty) Ltd. The method used bokashi substrate to treat food waste with microorganisms. This was then processed further into compost through the sheet mulching method and by black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) larvae. The outcomes were assessed according to the environmental, social and economic sustainability of this method of waste processing and indicated a positive impact in all three of these categories. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Soos die globale samelewing groei en al hoe meer lande industrialiseer, sal afvalproduksie ook proporsioneel toeneem. Moderne afvalbestuurpraktyke en vervaardigingsprosesse behels dat groot volumes afval in vullingsterreine of verbrandingsoonde beland. Vervaardiging behels hoofsaaklik ’n lineêre proses, waarin grondstowwe vir vervaardiging onttrek word en uiteindelik in sodanige vullingsterreine of verbrandingsoonde beland. Hierdie produkte is dan onbruikbaar. Hierdie praktyk is ’n onvolhoubare manier om hulpbronne te gebruik, nie net wat die grondstowwe vir vervaardiging betref nie, maar ook die grond wat gebruik word om die afval op te stort. Verwant aan hierdie probleem, is die kwessie van toenemende voedselvermorsing en die probleme rondom wêreldwye hongersnood en voedselonsekerheid. Daar word benader dat een derde van alle voedsel wat ter wêreld vervaardig word, vermors word. Dit kom neer op 1.3 miljard ton voedsel per jaar. Voedselvermorsing veroorsaak ’n verlies aan waardevolle, potensiële voedselbronne of potensiële hulpbronne vir ander prosesse, soos bemesting en energievervaardiging. Die armes is gewoonlik diegene wat die gouste deur beperkte of afnemende hulpbronne geraak word en, tot nog toe, is daar geen beduidende vordering in armoedeverligting nie. Wêreldwyd is daar ’n toename in informele nedersettings, of agterbuurte, en maniere om hierdie probleem aan te spreek, vorm lankal deel van die internasionale politiese en maatskaplike diskoers. In Suid-Afrika dui beleide daarop dat informele nedersettings, waar moontlik, ’n inkrementele, in situ opgraderingsproses moet ondergaan. Alhoewel hierdie plan ’n verbetering is op die vorige behuisingsbeleid, het wesenlike vordering nog nie plaasgevind nie. Gevolglik het hierdie studie gepoog om die kwessies rakende afvalbestuur, spesifiek van voedselafval, en inkrementele opgradering van informele nedersettings in ’n transdissiplinêre gevallestudie te kombineer deur te fokus op die voedselafvalbestuurstelsel in Enkanini, ’n informele nedersetting in Stellenbosch, Suid-Afrika. ’n Studie, uitgevoer deur Stellenbosch Munisipaliteit, wat die inhoud van vullis ontleed het, het bevind dat voedselafval ’n beduidende deel vorm van die vullis wat in Enkanini geproduseer word. Aangesien informele nedersettings dikwels tekortskiet aan voldoende vullisverwyderingsdienste, hou voedselafval ’n bedreiging in omdat patogene daarin broei en dit peste lok. Deur middel van ’n transdissiplinêre benadering is ’n proefprojek aangepak waartydens ’n alternatiewe metode om voedselafval te behandel, getoets is. Hierdie projek is in samewerking met Stellenbosch Munisipaliteit en Probiokashi (Pty) Ltd (Edms.) Bpk. in Enkanini uitgevoer. Hierdie metode het van bokashi-substraat gebruik gemaak om deur middel van mikroörganismes die voedselafval te behandel. Dit is daarna verder deur swartsoldaatvlieglarwes (Hermetia illucens) tot kompos verwerk. Die uitkomste van die studie is geassesseer ten opsigte van die sosiale, ekonomiese en omgewingsvolhoubaarheid van dié afvalverwerkingsmetode. ’n Positiewe impak is in al drie hierdie kategorieë opgemerk.

The aim of this study was to explore consumers’ descriptions of sustainable food consumption. The concept of sustainability can be difficult to grasp, but is often defined in terms of three pillars; environment, society and economy. Prior research of sustainable food consumption have often focused on one of the pillars rather than all of them together in relation to consumers understandings of sustainable food consumption. Notwithstanding, previous research have mentioned that in order to fully comprehend sustainability it is essential to take all of the three pillars into consideration. Therefore, this study acknowledged this gap, as it focused on the three pillars of sustainability as a base, and further connected the three pillars to the four food concepts; organic, Fairtrade, sustainable diets and waste, in order to fully understand consumers descriptions of sustainable food consumption. The study was conducted using a qualitative approach, and the data was collected through semi-structured interviews with a sample of students and employees at Linnaeus University in Sweden. The interviewees gave varied and interesting answers, which later were analyzed in comparison to the theory on the subject. With the answers from the interviews it was concluded that environmental and social sustainability were prioritized to economic sustainability among participants. As the participants’ descriptions of sustainable food consumption was varied, and all of the four concepts in relation to three pillars were analyzed, a framework was developed in order to clarify how the consumers describe sustainable food consumption. The study also presents a number of implications for further research as well as managerial implications.  Keywords Sustainable food consumption, consumers description, three pillars of sustainability, economic sustainability, environmental sustainability, social sustainability, organic, Fairtrade, sustainable diets, vegetarian, locally produced, waste reduction, food waste

70% of the fresh water and 40% of the earth surface is used for agriculture purposes. Today we throw away nearly every 3rd grocery bag we buy. By doing this we waste a lot of the worlds resources. Only in Sweden we spoil 1.2 billion tons of food every year. 700 000 tons of this is from the households. The biggest source to the waste is single households and families with children, this became the target group for this project. We have to change our behavior to preserve the earth’s resources. The research showed that the biggest reasons that we throw so much food is that we first of all buy too much food. We don’t have time to eat all the food we buy and it get therefore spoiled. This is a consequence from that we don’t see it as a problem. There is a lack of knowledge in how much we throw away and how to store food correctly. We are bad at planning our meals and grocery shopping and we end up with too much food because of this. This project investigates how we can reduce the food waste. The analyzed problem areas was used as a starting point in the ideation. The project focus is during the storing of the food in the households and how to keep track on the food we have. The storing of the food can be divided in three parts, make food last longer, plan the meals and shopping and keep track on the food we have. The final result is the smart food storage. It is a concept that helps the user to get a good overview of the food and to store it in the optimized way. It enables for planning of grocery shopping and helps you keep track on the food you have.

Denna rapport återger det arbete som syftat till att ta fram hjälpmedel för att utveckla hållbara förpackningslösningar. Projektet har genomförts som ett examensarbete för högskoleingenjörs- programmet i innovationsteknik och design vid fakulteten för hälsa, natur- och teknikvetenskap på Karlstads universitet. Arbetet har realiserats med stöd från Helén Williams, forskare inom energi- och miljöteknik. I dagsläget saknas metoder och hjälpmedel för att utveckla hållbara livsmedelsförpackningar där matsvinn tas in som en aspekt. Därför har en serie med tre verktyg utvecklats, från befintlig designprocessmetodik för tillämpning vid produktutveckling av hållbara förpackningslösningar, med fokus på reducerat matsvinn och minskad miljöpåverkan. För att få underlag till utvecklingen av verktygen har en förstudie genomförts där designprocess, hållbar utveckling, förpackning och matsvinn studerats. Förstudien har följts av en analys för att kartlägga var i produktutvecklingsprocessen verktyg för hållbar utveckling saknas. Detta för att identifiera faser med behov av fler hjälpmedel och resurser. Vidare har de olika faserna studerats mer ingående och det har lett fram till det slutliga resultatet bestående av verktygsmallar och riktlinjer för funktionsanalys, kvalitetshus och Pugh’s metod för reducerat matsvinn. För att sätta den centrala delen, kvalitetshusmallen, i ett verklighetsperspektiv har ett test utförts. Objektet för testet är tre olika varianter av mjölkförpackningar. Verktygen är ämnade till förpackningsdesigners och förpackningsteknologer för att underlätta deras arbete och vägval mot mer hållbara lösningar genom ett minskat produktsvinn. Att verktygen är enkla och användarvänliga är ett mål och en förutsättning för att de ska komma till användning. / This report covers a process that has aimed to contribute with tools for development of sustainable packaging solutions. The project has been implemented as a Bachelor thesis for the programme in  innovation and design engineering at the faculty of health, science and technology at Karlstad university. The project has been carried out with support from Helén Williams, researcher of  environmental and energy systems. Today there is a lack of methods and tools for developing sustainable packaging solutions, in which food waste is taken in as an aspect. A set of three tools has therefore been elaborated from existing methods. The set can be applied in the designprocess of sustainable packaging solutions to achieve reduced food waste and environmental impact. The feasibility study of the project has aimed to provide information for support and included the keywords: design process, sustainable development, packaging and food waste. After the feasibility study, an analysis has been made. The intention has been to map where tools for sustainable development are missing. This would help to identify the phases of the design process with extra need of methods and tools. The analysis has given an opportunity to study the selected phases more thoroughly. That has led to the final result consisting of templates and guidelines for function analysis, QFD and Pugh’s method for reduced food waste. A test has been performed to put the central part, the QFD-template, into a reality perspective. The objects for the test consists of three types of milk packages. The tools are aimed to be used by package designers and packages technologists to facilitate their work and decisions to more sustainable solutions through reduced product waste. The goal and the prerequisite are that the tools should be easy and user friendly. If not there is a risk that they might not be used.

Inledning: Matsvinn bidrar till en negativ klimatpåverkan och svinnet av animalier, speciellt nötkött, genererar stora mängder onödigt växthusgasutsläpp per kilo. Att minska svinnet av animalier bör prioriteras för att snabbt minska växthusgasutsläppen. Syfte: Syftet är att undersöka konsumenters inställning till att köpa nötkött som frysts ner dagen innan bäst före datum har passerat i ett försök att minska köttsvinn. Vidare studeras om matrelaterade kunskaper, färdigheter och beteenden, sammanfattade i begreppet food literacy, påverkar inställningen till att köpa nötkött som frysts ner dagen innan bäst före datum har passerat. Material och metod: Data samlades in via en webbenkät och en fokusgrupp. Databearbetning och analys av den kvantitativa datan utfördes i Excel där chitvå-test användes som statistisk metod. Den kvalitativa datan transkriberades och analyserades med hjälp av kodning och tematisering. Resultat: Den kvantitativa datan visar en positiv trend där majoriteten av konsumenterna kan tänka sig att köpa nötkött som frysts ner dagen innan bäst före datum har passerat. Resultaten visar att graden av food literacy ökar med åldern. Faktorer som visar sig vara betydelsefulla för konsumenter är pris, kvalitet, förpackning och ursprung. Slutsats: Majoriteten av respondenterna oavsett ålder är positivt inställda till att köpa nötkött som frysts ner dagen innan bäst före datum har passerat. Resultatet pekar åt att andelen respondenter med hög grad av food literacy ökar med ålder och faktorer som styr vid inköp av nötkött som frysts ner dagen innan bäst före datum har passerat är pris, kvalitet, förpackning och ursprung. / Introduction: food waste contributes to a negative climate impact and the meat wastage, especially beef, generates large amounts of greenhouse gas emissions per kilogram beef. Reducing animal wastage should be a priority in order to quickly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Aim: The aim is to investigate consumers' attitude to buying beef that has been frozen the day before the best before date has passed in an attempt to reduce the meat wastage. The study also investigates whether food-related knowledge, skills and behaviors, summarized in the concept food literacy, affect the attitude of buying beef that has been frozen the day before the best before date has passed. Method: Data was collected using a web-questionnaire and a focus group. The processing and the analysis of the data was performed in Excel using Chi-Square tests. The qualitative data was transcribed and analyzed using coding and thematization. Results: The quantitative data shows a positive trend where the majority of consumers can see themselves buying beef that has been frozen the day before the best before date has passed. The results show that the level of food literacy increases with age. Factors that prove to be important for consumers are price, quality, packaging and origin. Conclusion: The majority of respondents regardless of age are positive about buying beef. The result indicates that the proportion of respondents with a high degree of food literacy increases with age and factors that prove to be important for consumers when buying beef are price, quality, packaging and origin.

Social and ecological sustainability applications are a significant way to bring equality, equity, and happiness in society. Food waste and food security are two of the most significant problems the people have to tackle the next years. In every country, there are huge problems regarding the food waste which cause serious health problems and pollution not only in the atmosphere but in the subsoil as well. Contrary to that, there is a countless number of people facing food security issues every day across the globe. These problems occurred in Greece as well due to the modern way of living on one hand and the financial crisis on the other. A combination of technological ideas in the economic field of the circular economy could be applied to succeed in sustainable solutions. In this thesis, a literature search conducted in order to identify similar problems in Greece. There are very worrying statistics that indicate the massive food waste that is happening in Greek households. Additionally, the literature search for food security and unemployment reveals the significant problem occurred in society as a result of the financial crisis. An additional search in the field of the circular economy reveals excellent solutions in the agricultural machinery sharing and refactoring that could be applied locally, exploiting the existing infrastructure of the community. These solutions help small and young farmers to improve their financial situations. The author is exploring the effects of the financial crisis in the local economy in an effort to apply technological solutions in a form of a mobile application to interconnect people and make the donation, sharing and job search easier for the community. The ultimate goal of this study is to develop an application that could help the community to move towards social and ecological sustainability. Even though the ideas applied in this thesis are fresh to the community in the author’s region, the results of this work indicate that there are significant support and willingness to contribute. The development efforts are focusing on a mobile application where its features are focusing on the best possible interconnection among people of the community. Participants believe that the application interconnection along with the features provided, like the food donation, food sales, machinery sharing and job search among people of the community, could bring positive results reducing the food waste, promoting the circular economy, and toning the local economy in general. The data have shown that the author is moving towards the right path in his first attempt to present these ideas to the community in his region. Every participant in this study embraces his efforts finding potential value in the provided features of the application.

A presente pesquisa tem como finalidade analisar a ocorrência, a forma e os motivos do desperdício de alimentos no varejo supermercadista, analisando um procedimento das rotinas varejistas chamado de quebra operacional. Nesse sentido, as perdas, resultado direto das quebras, será apresentada sob uma perspectiva tripla, gerando problemas de natureza financeira para o varejo e indústria e ambientais e sociais para a sociedade como um todo, sendo, portanto, uma prática incoerente com as demandas sustentáveis. Considerando o desperdício como um resultado de assimetrias no canal de distribuição e a necessidade das organizações em considerar a sociedade em suas estratégias de negócios, a pesquisa apresenta e discute canais reversos e canais de ciclo fechado como modelos institucionais de coordenação para o tratamento e redução de desperdício e o marketing social como ferramenta para a mudança de comportamento e geração de benefícios à sociedade por parte das organizações. Para ilustrar a conjugação dos temas propostos, a pesquisa apresentará o projeto Last Minute Market, que tem por finalidade a transformação do desperdício em recurso. Em sentido complementar apresentar-se-á a quantificação da quebra operacional de uma loja varejista localizada na cidade de Ribeirão Preto, SP e os mecanismos que a loja usa para gerenciar as perdas e o descarte de alimentos. A conclusão que se tem é que o varejo se esforça para que a perda seja reduzida, mas esforços são necessários para que o desperdício seja também evitado. / This study aims to analyse the occurrence, form and the reasons for food wastage in the retail business context, analyzing a routine retail procedure called operational break. In this sense, the losses, as a direct result of the operational break, will be presented in a triple perspective, generating financial problems to the retail business and industry and environmental and social problems to the society as a whole, therefore, an inconsistent practice with the sustainable demands. Considering the waste as a result of asymmetries in the distribution channel and the need for organizations to consider the society in their business strategies, the study presents and discusses reverse channels and closed-loop channels as institutional models of coordination for the treatment and waste reduction and the social marketing as a tool for behavior change and benefits generation to the society by the organizations. To illustrate the combination of the proposed topics, the research will presents the Last Minute Market project, which aims to convert the waste into resource. On complementary sense, a operational break quantification of a retail store at Ribeirão Preto, SP and the mechanisms that the store uses to manage the loss and disposal of food will be presented. The conclusion is that retail business is striving for the loss to be reduce, but efforts are necessary so that the waste could be also avoided.

Submitted by Silvana Teresinha Dornelles Studzinski (sstudzinski) on 2016-07-28T12:07:38Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Jamile Machado Hallam_.pdf: 1161483 bytes, checksum: 328ee4f618bd889a5e3570f303cdb9de (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-07-28T12:07:38Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Jamile Machado Hallam_.pdf: 1161483 bytes, checksum: 328ee4f618bd889a5e3570f303cdb9de (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-02-26 / CAPES - Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / PROSUP - Programa de Suporte à Pós-Gradução de Instituições de Ensino Particulares / O aproveitamento energético obtido pela digestão anaeróbia é uma alternativa viável para o tratamento de resíduos alimentares, no entanto requer um estrito controle operacional. A escolha da melhor condição de partida pelo cálculo da relação substrato/inóculo (S/I) em termos de Sólidos voláteis (SV) pode facilitar estabilização do processo, resultando em elevada produtividade de biogás e teor de metano. Este estudo testou 5 diferentes relações de S/I em regime de batelada a 35oC, visando a estabilidade do processo e otimização da produção de biogás com alto teor de metano. Foi utilizado como substrato o resíduo coletado no restaurante universitário da Unisinos, e o como inóculo o lodo anaeróbio do reator UASB tratando esgoto doméstico da estação de tratamento de esgotos da mesma universidade. Os parâmetros monitorados foram pH, volume de biogás, teor de metano, alcalinidade e ácidos graxos voláteis. Todas as bateladas mantiveram-se dentro da faixa de pH recomendada pela literatura, entre 6,5 e 7,5, com exceção à batelada 5, que utilizou uma relação 1:1 S/I e onde o pH decaiu para 5,0. A produção de biogás em todas as condições estudadas teve sua máxima produção até o terceiro dia de inoculação e foi influenciada pela relação S/I aplicada, pois o aumento da quantidade de SV do substrato aumentou o rendimento e o teor de metano, com exceção da condição 1:1, onde houve a acidificação do sistema. O rendimento de biogás das condições 1:5, 1:4, 1:3, 1:2, 1:1 foram respectivamente 0,69, 0,75, 0,67, 0,89 e 0,18 L/g SV do substrato utilizado, e os teores médios de metano em cada batelada foram 69, 67, 65, 74 58%. Concluiu-se então, que a melhor relação substrato/inóculo para partida do processo foi 1:2, para a qual obteve-se 0,89 L de biogás/g SV do substrato com um teor de metano de 74%, mantendo uma relação AGV/ALC abaixo de 0,5, demonstrando a estabilidade do processo. / The energy recovery acquired through the anaerobic digestion is a viable alternative for treating food waste, though it requires an operational strict control. The choice of the best start up condition athwart the substratum /inoculum (S/I) ratios in terms of volatile solids (VS) may facilitate the process stabilization, resulting in increased production of biogas and methane content. The present study tested 5 different ratios of S/I in batch system at 35ºC, aiming the process stability and the optimization in the raised methane level biogas production. As the substrate, the residue collected at the university restaurant of Unisinos was used, and as inoculum the UASB reactor anaerobic sludge from the sewage wastewater treatment plant at the same university. The monitored parameters were pH, biogas amount, methane content, alkalinity and volatile fatty acids. All of the batches kept within the pH levels recommended by literature, between 6.5 and 7.5, exception to batch 5, which employed a relation of 1:1 substrate/inoculum and in which the pH level declined to 5.0. The biogas production in all of the studied conditions had its utmost production until the third day of inoculation and it was influenced by the S/I ration applied, since the increase of the substratum VS amount raised the yield and the methane content, exception to the condition 1:1 where there was an acidification of the system, and it was considered that the capacity of the commutation of substratum in methane was extrapolated. The biogas yields of the conditions 1:5, 1:4, 1:3, 1:2, 1:1 were, respectively, 0.69, 0.75, 0.67, 0.89 and 0.18 L/g VS of the substratum employed, and the average methane content in each batch were 69, 67, 65, 74 58%. The study shows that the best relation S/I to the process start-up was 1:2, to which it was obtained 0.89 L of biogas/g SV of the substratum with a methane content of 74% keeping the relation AGV/ALC under 0.5, demonstrating stability in the process.