The ICLEI Europe Brussels Office organises this series of meetings called Breakfast at Sustainability's (B@S), hosted by local, regional and national governments represented in Brussels. Speakers of the past 30 editions typically included representatives from the European Parliament and the European Commission, with good practices shared by European cities.

B@S takes place multiple times per year and focuses on Europe’s leading, ongoing urban sustainability discussions. With participants and speakers mainly joining from Brussels, B@S is one of ICLEI's most climate friendly and prolific event series. For more information, or if you are a city interested in hosting a strategically visible B@S through your representations, contact:  brussels-office@iclei.org.

If you would like to receive and email invitation to upcoming editions of the conference series, please subscribe using this link: http://eepurl.com/htx5l1.

39th Breakfast at Sustainability’s
How can local governments support small farms?

By creating food strategies that rely on small farms, local and regional governments can deliver multiple benefits to citizens, including: access to healthy and sustainable food; rural and urban employment; climate change mitigation; and food security. Supporting small-scale farms and businesses is about supporting diversity. What’s more, small farms proved to be more resilient than large food providers during the COVID-19 pandemic, demonstrating their importance for territorial food security.

Join ICLEI Europe in Brussels (BE) on 22 March 2023, 9:30–12:30 CET for the 39^th edition of our flagship Breakfast at Sustainability’s event series to explore how local and regional governments can support small farms and ensure their integration into municipal strategies across sectors, policies and departments. Click here to register.

By sharing good practices and learnings, this morning session will explore synergies and strategies between small-scale farmers and local and regional governments spanning topics from the supply and logistics of fresh and healthy food transportation, to access to public land and land management, innovative public procurement models, climate change action, and to urban-rural food resilience.

Experts and local and regional government representatives will share knowledge and advice, ensuring a fruitful conversation. Notably, Franc Bogovič (Member of the European Parliamentary Alliance against Hunger and Malnutrition; and the Committee on Regional Development); Szocs-Boruss Miklos Attila (peasant farmer, President of Eco Ruralis National Peasant Farmers Association), and Richard McCarthy (Slow Food International; and World Farmers Markets Coalition) will speak.

Participation in the event is free of charge, but places are limited and prior registration is required. In-person event registration will close as soon as all places have been filled. The event will be followed by a light networking lunch.

Click here to view the event programme. To register, click here.

Please contact francesca.daddario@iclei.org in case of questions.

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This event will be followed by an afternoon session (14:00–17:00) on “Sustainable Public Procurement in Schools as Catalysts for Food System Change”, which will shift the focus to the power of schools, and in particular school meals. And on the following day (Thursday, 23 March), procurers and procurement experts can join a legal training day on Farm-to-Fork Public Procurement.

To register for the afternoon session click here. To register to attend the legal training day on Thursday, 23 March, click here.