Impact of the food waste exhibition GewissensBIss

In 2023, the Institute for Wastemanagement and Circularity at the BOKU-University, in collaboration with Tafel Österreich, developed a traveling exhibition to prevent food waste. In its first year, it reached more than 5,000 students. The traveling exhibition has already shown great success in an initial evaluation and has been proven to expand the knowledge of visitors and spark interest in the topic among students between the ages of 11 and 17. An evaluation of the teaching units (worksheets and workshops) shows that the students' own parents are the most important point of contact for them, but it is not known how they can be reached most effectively in terms of reach and knowledge transfer. The following research questions will therefore be addressed in the project. How many parents are informed by their children about the exhibition and what information do they receive? Can the reach of knowledge transfer be increased by providing targeted information to parents in advance? How can a change in behavior in households be promoted and improved in the future after awareness-raising teaching has been implemented? Are there ways to actively involve the children's families?