European cities face growing pressures related to rising costs of living, increased inequality and evolving political landscapes affecting funding and operations. The lessons learned from the Food Trails Crosscutting Managers underscore the importance of collaborative approaches and adaptive strategies in addressing evolving socioeconomic challenges.
Introduced in 2015, the Food 2030 policy framework fosters research and innovation that yield multiple benefits across four themes: nutrition for sustainable and healthy diets; food systems supporting a healthy planet; circularity and resource efficiency; and innovation and empowering communities.
Throughout the Food Trails project, four Crosscutting Managers, each specialised in one of these themes, collaborated with the partner cities to make sure local policies and practices could deliver benefits spanning multiple themes helping cities maintain a systemic perspective. The combined work of the four Crosscutting Managers helps cities understand the interconnections among co-benefits and how they are affected by policy interventions.
For a soft introduction to the material, read the articles below:
- “The transformative potential of public food procurement, supporting a sustainable food system and healthy planet” by Betina Bergmann Madsen, Food Trails Crosscutting Manager on Climate and Sofie Folsach Rasmussen, Communications employee at the Municipality of Copenhagen.
- “Innovative approaches cities can use to engage farmers in food system decision-making processes” by Francisca Feiteira and Yael Pantzer, Crosscutting Managers on Community Engagement and Innovation.
- “A Systemic Analysis of Circularity in Food Systems, within Cities and Beyond” by Alice Casiraghi, Food Trails’s Croscutting Managers on Circularity.
- “Nourishing Change: Transforming Food Systems for Health, Equity and Nutrition” by Shaleen Meelu, Food Trails’s Croscutting Managers on Nutrition.
In a final report, the Food Trails Crosscutting Managers summarise the findings and recommendations related to each Food 2030 theme emphasising essential learnings that can guide future initiatives and policy actions. The report aims to empower cities and food stakeholders with actionable insights to navigate future food system initiatives.
For a deep dive into the subject, read the full report “The EU Food 2030 Strategy and how it was addressed in Food Trails through the role of four Crosscutting Managers”.
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Food Trails is an EU Horizon 2020 project involving 11 cities, 3 universities, and 5 food organizations. Its goal is to promote more resilient, safe, fair, and diverse urban food systems through co-designed actions in Food 2030-led Living Labs, enabling the development of systemic urban food policies.
The Food Trails project has received fundings from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme, under grant agreement n. 101000812.
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