Brussels, 30 October – The Food2030 Project’s Family is thrilled to introduce its latest Policy Brief “Long-term Living Lab Support towards Food System Transformation”. This initiative was made possible with the assistance of the European Commission’s Horizon Result Booster Service.
The FOOD2030 Project’s Family, consisting of five Horizon 2020 (H2020) initiatives—FoodE, FoodShift2030, Cities2030, FoodTrials, and Fusilli— focus on coordinating synergistic initiatives to drive innovation in European local food systems, in line with the European Commission’s FOOD 2030 and the Farm to Fork Strategy.
The most recent milestone of this collaboration is the release of the policy brief “Long-term Living Lab Support towards Food System Transformation”.
The Project Family have played a crucial role in establishing Food System Living Labs in over 50 city-regions across 21 countries, which have become essential structures for extending EU funds and initiatives to local communities and governments in a targeted and impactful manner. These labs bring together local stakeholders involved in food system innovation, offering place-based solutions to national and global challenges in our food system.
To ensure the continued success of the Food System Living Labs (FSLL) beyond the lifespan of individual projects, the paper provides policymakers of the European Commission, national governments and municipal leaders with recommendations focusing on prioritising FSLLs long term funding and guidelines to support them in implementing effective strategies to expand the impact of FSLLs.
The document proposes a systemic shift in food systems, supported by financial frameworks, funding strategies, and the recognition of the broader societal value of FSLLs as epicentres for coordination, knowledge exchange, and transformative learning.
The document was launched as part of the “FoodSHIFT2030 Policy Conference on Citizen-driven transformation of the EU Food System” (Brussels on October 26); the first closing event of the Project Family. Indeed, the overall theme of the paper is how to ensure that the impact achieved by the Food System Living Labs (FSLL) continues beyond the projects’ lifetime.
About Food 2030 Project Family
Fifty cities across Europe are involved in five EU Horizon-funded projects investing over €50 million by 2024 to innovate local food systems. FoodSHIFT 2030, FOODE, Food Trails, Cities 2030 and FUSILLI constitute the “EU FOOD 2030 Project Family” and collaborate towards the sustainable transformation of the European food system aligned with the European Commission’s FOOD 2030 and Farm to Fork Strategy.
