Urban Planning, Ecological Transition, Urban Services and Housing

There are more than 3,300 orange trees in Barcelona, approximately 1.5% of the city’s 202,000 trees.

This year’s edition of Barcelona Espigola took to the streets of six districts within the city of Barcelona between 2 and 5 February, and has been a huge success. In total, 5,375 kilos of bitter oranges have been picked, double the quantity collected last year, and 598 volunteers from the districts of Sant Andreu, Les Corts, Ciutat Vella, Sant Martí, Gràcia, and for the first time, Eixample.

The aim of the urban ‘Espigolada’ was to give a second life to the bitter oranges produced by the city’s trees, and encourage local people to take full advantage of available food resources and avoid waste. To achieve this, the oranges collected will be processed and transformed into marmalade at the Espigoladors Foundation’s im-perfect vocational integration workshop.

Jars of 100% natural La Marga marmalade are then sent back to the different districts to be distributed to the various social organisations that help people in food poverty or at risk of social exclusion.

The Barcelona Public Health Agency is in charge of analysing both the raw oranges and the marmalade itself to ensure a good quality finished product.

An initiative that reaches beyond the Espigoladors

The initiative, which has been running for four years, began with a pilot scheme in the Sant Andreu district in 2021. Since then, Barcelona City Council has extended it to other districts of the city with the support of Parks and Gardens, and the help of the Espigoladors Foundation.

The project also includes a series of workshops aimed both at the organisations that take part, and at educational centres and other groups in each district, with debates being held to discuss the problems of food waste, share initiatives for making the most of food and good consumption practices, and to reflect on the right to healthy, sustainable food.

Barcelona Espigola falls under section 3 of the Natura Plan, part of the 2030 Agriculture Strategy and the 2030 Sustainable Food Strategy.