The Food Trails Final Conference taking place in Brussels today is an opportunity to showcase how the initiative has transformed cities’ food systems, take stock of what participants have learned, discuss the way forward and cement the project’s legacy. From putting the Food 2030 priorities in action to analysing the potential of Living Labs for food system transformation; from the best tools for replication to a five steps guide to building your city’s food policy; the project is a goldmine of information for any city that wants to embark in its food journey.
Using the Food 2030 Framework as a tool for innovation
Alice Casiraghi and Shaleen Meelu, two of the Food Trails Crosscutting Managers, focused on the role of the Food 2030 Framework in supporting urban food innovation by addressing health, sustainability, and governance challenges across European cities.
Nutrition for sustainable and healthy diets is one of the four pillars of the Food 2030 Framework. Food Trails has tackled this broadly, for example by considering food poverty not only in terms of access to any food but also in terms of access to nutritious food.
“Statistics underscore the urgent need for comprehensive economic policies that prioritise equitable access to resources, addressing the root causes of poverty, food insecurity and drivers of health inequality,” stressed Meelu. Initiatives like Madrid’s Tarjeta Familias integrate nutrition education with welfare programmes, showcasing how cities can ensure healthier and more inclusive food aid initiatives.
Read the full article on Health Equity and Nutrition by Shaleen Meelu.
The people and the planet
Circularity and climate concerns are at the core of two Food 2030 priorities as food production accounts for over a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions. Initiatives like urban farming, sustainable procurement, and supporting local producers illustrate how cities can take bold steps. By embedding food systems into climate strategies, cities can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions linked to food production, transport, and waste.
Read the article on Food Procurement by Betina Bergmann Madsen.
As a learning point from the Food Trails project, Casiraghi explains that “there is no clear recipe for circularity, it all comes down to the ability to analyse those different parts and then understand the possible links between them: circularity entails collaboration, creativity and going beyond siloed processes.”
Read the full article on Circularity by Alice Casiraghi.
This links strongly with the last pillar of the Food 2030 Framework: “Innovation and empowering communities”. Food Trails’ experience found that community engagement and empowering citizens to shape urban food policies is vital to address systemic food challenges. Casiraghi emphasised the need for “building consensus, educating citizens, and engaging various sectors to ensure a systemic approach to circular food systems”. Effective governance requires that city food policies bring together various stakeholders, including food banks, distributors, farmers, consumer organisations and waste management departments.”
Read the article by Francisca Feiteira and Yael Pantzer, Crosscutting Managers on Communities.
Read the full report from the Food Trails Crosscutting Managers.
Experimenting through the Food Trails Living Labs
What makes a Living Lab effective? During the event, the cases of Birmingham, Warsaw and Groningen served as the basis for a discussion with Rosalinda Scalia, Deputy Head of the unit for bioeconomy DG RTD and Thom Achterbosch, Professor at Wageningen Economic Research.
The Food Trails Living Labs have been crucial components of the project, providing cities with a platform to test and innovate food system transformations in real-world settings. These labs enabled stakeholders to experiment with new ideas, policies, and technologies to address local challenges. They offer a space for co-creation and collaboration with local actors ensuring that solutions are tailor-made for specific urban contexts.
Find out more by listening to the Food Trails podcast episode on “Living Labs to start the change”.
The project’s legacy: the Food Trails Handbook
For four years Food Trails has been a knowledge sharing programme involving 38 European cities. It tested ideas, learned from trial and error, and helped cities develop their Urban Food Policies. At the conference, the cities of Copenhagen and Funchal as well as Marijke Dijkshoorn-Dekker from the Wageningen Economic Research, Filippo Gavazzeni, from the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact Secretariat, and Madeleine Coste from Eurocities helped present one of the final outputs of the project: the Food Trails Handbook.
The Food Trails Handbook ‘Sharing innovations for urban food system transitions’ is a practical guide for those working on urban food systems, offering examples of best practices and tools for systemic change.
For example, it introduces the QuickScan Lens for Replication (QSLR) tool, which helps cities replicate successful food system interventions. The handbook also covers methodologies like stakeholder mapping, data collection, and peer learning, all aimed at fostering transformation across multiple points in the food system.
Flip through the Food Trails Handbook.
If your city wants to embark on its food journey, one thing is sure, Food Trails has a lot to share.
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Even more from the project:
- Watch the Food Trails webinar series.
- Listen to the Food Trails podcast series. Shout out to Ep.5 “Five steps to set up an Urban Food Policy”. Episodes are still coming out.
- Watch all Food Trails Living Labs videos.
- Learn about replicating the Food Trails approach in the handbook.
- How to set up your own Urban Food Policy? Read about the Pathways for Food 2030 led Urban Food Policies.
- Read all the latest on the Food Trails project, as well as articles and stories from the ground.
- Flip through the Food Trails reports and policy briefs.
