European citizens are facing unprecedented challenges due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the increased cost of living and environmental pressures. The food system is an essential and often overlooked component of a sustainable and just transition. To this end, ICLEI is involved in a new project, FEAST, which is dedicated to food systems that support transitions to healthy and sustainable diets.

Such transitions can only be achieved by working directly with communities, cities, and national governments across Europe as well as marginalised and vulnerable groups to conceptualise and implement place-specific strategies. These strategies should serve to increase the sustainability and health impact of local dietary habits, food procurement practices, and food system policies.

The project utilises several Living Labs, including two ICLEI Member cities, Ghent (Belgium) and Rotterdam (the Netherlands). Through co-created interventions, reorganised procurement practices, and redesigned policies, FEAST will ensure major environmental, health and economic gains for people, the economy, and the planet. A major planned outcome of the project will be a food systems planning tool, which will allow policy makers to evaluate the impact of changes in consumption, waste, production practices, and distribution scales on Farm to Fork socio-ecological targets.

“The living labs will guide the project in understanding which practical community designed solutions work best to ensure healthy and sustainable food is getting to every table. Our bottom-up, hands-on approach will inform policy makers at all levels, modelling policies around the needs of European residents, and working towards a healthier and more sustainable food environment for all of Europe and beyond,” contributes ICLEI’s Campaign Coordinator for Sustainable Public Food Procurement, Giorgia Dalla Libera Marchiori.

This project is kicking off in ICLEI Member Heidelberg (Germany) this fall. To learn more, read here.

To learn more about ICLEI Europe’s food cluster is working with cities to transform the fields of agriculture, food procurement, nutrition, and food policy, read here.