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Across Europe, cities are rethinking how food is produced, distributed and enjoyed. Some of these cities participated in the Cleverfood project peer-learning programme coordinated and facilitated by Eurocities – a meeting of minds, experiences and ambitions that turned urban food policies into a collective endeavour. The project’s programme brought together colleagues from across Europe who discovered that, despite different contexts, their challenges feel strangely familiar, and their solutions often spark inspiration across borders.

“Sometimes we had to wake up early, or travel far, but it was all worth it to see the enthusiastic exchanges, and cities go: ‘This is cool, can I do something similar in my city?’” says Chiara Roticiani, project coordinator at Eurocities, summarising the programme.

A journey through shared learning

Each visit brought cities into the heart of another urban food ecosystem to learn about how to engage different groups of stakeholders in local food policy making. Delegations walked fields, observed school kitchens, learned about new governance models, met grassroots groups, and recognised their own challenges reflected back at them – sometimes unexpectedly.

During a visit to Bergamo, for example, one representative from the Liege Food Belt found clarity about how their own food council could evolve, saying the experience “gave me a clear vision of how our local food council could be organised. We will try to transfer this concept to our local context.”

What made the Cleverfood programme stand out was the willingness of hosting cities to open their doors and show what lies behind their approaches: the successes, the experiments, the partnerships, the tested policy measures, and the quiet day to day work that sustains them.

In Liege, visitors discovered the power of a food movement built from the ground up. Over ten years, citizens, farmers and local organisations have shaped a territorial vision that continues to evolve. Lisbon delegates summed up the impact of this visit, saying “Exchanging experiences on food policy design and implementation in Europe is fundamental to reinvent projects and inspire new ones.”

Milan offered a different lesson. Here, visitors saw what patient, long‑term political commitment can do: renewed school meals, support for small producers, innovative food aid hubs, and deep cooperation between city departments. Cities left inspired by how Milan has managed to turn food policy into a driver of both social inclusion and economic opportunity, showing that strategic consistency can make a city’s food system fairer and more stable over time.

In Pau, visitors discovered a food system shaped by values as much as by policy. With its Green Belt and long‑term protection of agricultural land, Pau treats food as a public good rooted in territory. A participant from the Netherlands expressed what many felt: “Pau treats food not as a commodity, but as a human right and a shared public good.”

Then there were cities like Warsaw, where change is happening through hands‑on experimentation. Visiting delegations were struck by how small, low‑cost interventions, such as re‑organising storage spaces in food aid centres or improving volunteer logistics, could have quick, meaningful impact. Turin’s delegates described Warsaw’s efforts as “low‑cost interventions that could work in our own city.” It was a reminder that not all transformation begins with big strategies; sometimes it starts with practical, clever tweaks that remove barriers and build dignity.

Each city became both teacher and learner. Each visit added a new layer to the collective story.

The quiet strength of learning together

After coming back home full of inspiration, participants transformed their insights into plans rooted in what they had seen, experienced, questioned and debated during the visits.

These plans will guide cities to turn ideas into real projects. Together with the Vrije University of Amsterdam, Eurocities selected the plans to be awarded a financial contribution to strengthen stakeholder engagement in their local food policy labs and councils. In doing so, Cleverfood ensured that knowledge exchange did not stay in meeting rooms or travel diaries; it became action on the ground.

What began as inspiration in Lambeth took root in Lisbon. A spark from Milan influenced Glasgow’s thinking. Governance ideas from Liege inspired Bergamo. A community-led model from Amsterdam travelled to Turkey.

Cleverfood has shown that when cities share knowledge, confidence grows. When they exchange openly, ideas sharpen. When they learn together, they move faster toward healthier, fairer and more sustainable food systems.

In the words of Chiara Roticiani, “Our work is like making bread: with the right mix of collaboration and support, it will rise into something that can feed change.”

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Want to go deeper? Read the stories that inspired cities across Europe

• Amsterdam: How neighbourhood-led food initiatives put trust at the centre of social innovation.
• Bergamo: How steady political commitment and strong local networks built a long-lasting food strategy.
• Bury: How a small UK borough uses school meals and community partnerships to spark systemic change.
• Glasgow: How communities lead the city’s food transformation through mapping, connection and care.
• Hamburg: How the Food Cluster brings businesses, innovators and the city together to grow a local food economy.
• Lambeth: How collaboration and creativity drive healthy food access across a diverse London borough.
• Liege: How a decade-long citizen movement reshaped regional food governance from farm to fork.
• Marseille: How grassroots organisations experiment with new urban agriculture and food access solutions.
• Milan: How long-term political vision and strong producer partnerships transformed school meals and food aid.
• Nantes: How a territorial food project built through wide democratic consultation guides the city’s long‑term food strategy.
• Nilufer: How a Turkish municipality anchors its food strategy in local cooperatives and public infrastructure.
• Pau: How a French city treats food as a human right and protects farmland through its Green Belt model.
• Turin: How a medium-sized Italian city connects education, social services and food sustainability. sized Italian city connects education, social services and food sustainability.
• VitoriaGasteiz: How a city without formal competences still acts boldly to rebuild its food system.
• Warsaw: How practical, low-cost improvements boost dignity and efficiency in the city’s food aid network.