What does FoodE do?

Led by the University of Bologna, FoodE brings together a highly qualified consortium of 24 organizations. It comprises universities, research institutes, SMEs, NGOs, as well as city councils spread across 8 EU countries. FoodE is financed under Horizon 2020, the European Union Research and Innovation Framework Programme (2014-2020) and will run for four years. 

FoodE aims to accelerate the growth of sustainable and resilient citizen-led urban food system initiatives across Europe by engaging:

• Citizens, regardless of their age;
• food system start-ups and small businesses operating in the urban food landscape;
• Cities and regional authorities;
• Academia;
• Schools.

Specifically, FoodE and its partners will implement the following activities:

• Building a database of existing citizen-led food systems initiatives in the EU and their integration within City/Region Food Systems (CRFS);
• Developing a methodological framework for assessing these existing CRFS and emerging initiatives;
• Assessing the social, environmental and economic dimensions of the selected initiatives;
• Creating and improving an online app for the reviewal and monitoring of CRFS;
• Launching hands-on initiatives in 18 schools throughout Europe, resulting in the preparation and publication of an e-book on CRFS, edited by and for young minds;
• Holding an open challenge/competition for the design of innovative CRFS pilot projects;
• Implementing and scaling-up 15 CRFS pilot projects in 12 EU cities/regions, involving coastal, rural and urban areas;
• Classifying innovative business models in CRFS and reviewing existing certification labels;
• Creating a CRFS ecolabel;
• Producing fact sheets on EU and national policies on CRFS;
• Preparing and publishing a European guidebook to sustainable CRFS;
• Developing an app that will allow European citizens to identify, monitor and assess CRFS initiatives.

The outputs of FoodE will pave the way for job creation, enhance local economies, and enable local communities to contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, whilst increasing the relationships and interlinkages between the different actors of the food chains.