In these portraits, each of the 90 innovators has been profiled using compact descriptive section addressing the key activities and achievements so far as well as the near future perspectives under the heading ‘Looking ahead’. The one-page portraits are complemented by infographics on the impacts and the relevant contact details.

For quick orientation, the innovations have been categorized according to four innovation dimensions: product, process, social & governance. These dimensions enable us to identify what kind of innovations are being initiated across city regions and provide suitable, relevant support.

These rich examples give us a glimpse of how food system innovations can look, and how they can be effective in addressing elements of the food system, and the relevant stakeholders that are involved. Together, these innovators and related stakeholders form the Innovation Ecosystem in their city-region, which has the potential to redefine local food systems.

Supporting Innovations

In addition to these differing innovation dimensions, the Innovation Portraits also highlight the varying maturity levels seen among innovations. This maturity refers to the developmental stage of an innovation, which can be useful in identifying the needs and next steps that an innovator can take to bring an idea to life, from Eureka! moment to viable product or service.

Based on the maturity of an innovation, we can establish what kind of support would be best suited to the innovator. This support takes three main forms:

Maturing – advancing an innovation for better application as a solution. E.g. improved functioning of the innovation, better organizational structure, developing a business strategy…

Combining – linking of different innovations for strategic purposes. E.g. partnerships to facilitate new services, resource sharing, collaboration towards a common goal (coalitions, associations…)

Upscaling – increasing the impact and/or outreach of an innovation. E.g. increasing production, adding new products or services, outreach to new markets or communities, open-source knowledge sharing…

The Innovation Portraits provide us with an important reflection of the food system transition, in that many innovations are still early on in their maturing process, and in addition to the passion and ambition of the innovator themselves, will require targeted support and enabling conditions to thrive.

Providing us with snapshots of diverse innovators per city region, the Innovation Portraits also offer us an opportunity to consider how the Innovation Ecosystems in these city regions look. For example:

• Which innovators have (potentially) complementary resources, products or services?
• Which partnerships can be formed?
• Which innovators have a common interest or goal?

In particular, these questions can open the door to opportunities for combining, stimulating activity in the local Innovation Ecosystem. Looking at long-term perspectives, upscaling is a key acceleration mechanism for innovations that are at a high level of maturity and wish to increase their reach and impact.

Discover all INNOVATORS at a glance here!

Opportunities for Change

The 90 cases highlighted by the Innovation Portraits provides not only an inspiring portfolio of the diverse innovations that are actively contributing to food system transition, but also an example of how individual action, by individual innovators, can kick-start the development of an innovation ecosystem. These innovation ecosystems are fundamental in challenging the status-quo of food systems, and can generate awareness, interest and engagement with change. Through supporting the innovators highlighted in these Innovation Portraits, the FoodSHIFT2030 consortium hopes to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon, circular and plant-based food system in Europe.

Download the Innovation Portrait brochure here.

The post Innovators: Meet the people changing your food system appeared first on FoodSHIFT 2030.

Date: 13 December 11-12.30 pm CET 

This online interactive workshop aims to help place-based organisations which already have or are setting up a local food partnership, or food policy council or local food governance body, and who are interested in setting up a food strategy.

This workshop is open to local food partnerships or councils who would like to join the FoodSHIFT network, keen to build local food strategies with community involvement that result in positive transformation of the food system.

As well as learning from other organisations on governance and food strategy, attendees will then be invited to join the FoodSHIFT2030 email forum, a unique platform for all those involved in the project, to share questions, expertise, information and more, as we continue to build the movement for food system change across Europe!

Programme: 

As part of this workshop, we will be sharing FoodSHIFT tools and guides on governance as well as other useful materials such as the UK’s Sustainable Food Places toolkit.

We will have presentations with case studies from places that are at different points of their food governance journey, as well as breakout sessions for interactive activities,  providing an opportunity for attendees to work and learn alongside like-minded people from places around Europe.

Speakers include: 

• Beatrice Walthall, from FoodSHIFT2030 Berlin Lab
• Sustain, the alliance for better food and farming
• Food Matters

WATCH THE RECORDING HERE:

Please note this is the 1st of a series of 4 workshops, from now until end of 2023. Please stay tuned for future workshop announcements. Thank you!

The post Workshop: Governance and food strategy appeared first on FoodSHIFT 2030.

At the Copenhagen Lab, we know that chefs in restaurants and canteens are important actors in the food system, with the power to choose who wins and loses in the game of growing and selling food. Our working theory is, the more chefs know about the impact of their procurement, the better able they are to act as agents for sustainable food system transformation, by sourcing ingredients with a positive impact.

The problem, and perhaps, part of the solution?

Our aim at the Copenhagen Lab is to encourage systemic change in favor of local food system resilience – or in other words, to shorten the chain between farms and eaters, by encouraging food businesses and ordinary citizens to continuously support smaller, less distant agri-food actors. Not only are such actors better able to pivot amid uncertainty, they also offer better transparency, concentrate more value with farmers and makers, and support agrobiodiversity and ecosystem services locally.

Worldwide, people depend more and more on imported foods, arriving to them at the end of longer, and more complex supply chains, when compared to more localized systems. And while the proportion of global food actors’ control over the food system is increasing, the number of these suppliers is actually decreasing (Kummu et. al., 2020). This is one of many indications of the troubling trend of decreasing food system resiliency at the local level. We depend more and more on fewer and fewer large food companies, which due to their size and complexity are more vulnerable to shocks, such as agricultural disruptions due to climate change, and global pandemics, to name a few pertinent examples. 

By contrast, smaller agri-food actors with more direct relationships to partners and consumers have demonstrated better ability to pivot amid the Covid-19 pandemic, ensuring we get the food we need. In Denmark, producers such as Birthesminde, marketplaces such as Grønt Marked and Coop Crowdfunding, and subscription-based vendors such as GRIM, and Blue Lobster are a few examples of local actors that adapted quickly in order to fill the gaps created by the pandemic, and make sure Copenhageners not only had safe access to the food they needed, but perhaps to fresher, more nutritious food, with a more direct line to local producers than they might have had before.

Measuring impacts on the local food system

In response to decreasing food system resilience amid increasing uncertainty, and starting with restaurants and canteens as our initial target user, the Copenhagen Lab has been developing a new tool that shows how much organic Danish farmland supplies participating canteen and restaurant kitchens. Drawing from yield data supplied by Denmark’s Organic Association (kilograms of organic produce per hectare in Denmark), and using procurement data from professional kitchens (kilograms of products purchased), the tool takes the total kilograms of products the kitchen buys, and calculates the approximate number of organic hectares currently supplying the kitchen, as well as the maximum number of Danish, organic hectares the kitchen could be sourcing from, if they were to prioritize local and traceable ingredients when possible. The resulting quantification of local, organic land area can be used as a new metric of success, giving professional kitchens the opportunity to see their current and potential impact on sustainable local agriculture, and work towards a more positive impact on the local foodshed by targeting more local, organic, seasonal, plant-based production through their procurement (figure 1).

Figure 1 – Example of a kitchen’s procurement impact, according to eight measurable indicators, including supplier types, hectares of farmland, meat types and the proportion of meat in kitchen buyings, number and diversity of fruits and vegetables, proportion of ingredients purchased in season, types of fish purchased, and the origin on fish and seafood purchased.

In spring, 2021, after prototyping the tool, we recruited nine Danish canteens – collectively purchasing approximately 6.8 million kg of food ingredients each year – to pilot it and calculate their current and potential organic hectares, and further expand their perception to include other impacts on the local food system. In addition to organic hectares, the analysis introduced additional indicators, such as agricultural biodiversity, seasonality, and the number of steps between the farm and the kitchen. 

What we’ve learned (so far)

It turns out that while the picture is indeed complex, knowledge about this complexity is motivating, and helpful in setting goals with impacts that are measurable, and most importantly, relatable when put into a local context. Having calculated the current and potential hectare footprint of the nine pilot kitchens, and explored strategies for shifting towards a healthier and more resilient local food system with them, the chefs and kitchen managers from our pilot kitchens have spoken.

Figure 2 – Presentation of the local hectare indicator to pilot kitchens.

Here are a few highlights from this summer’s focus groups discussions with pilot kitchens:

• Story is everything. Whether it’s the story about a product, how it was produced, or the farmer that it grew it, chefs and eaters alike all want the narrative behind their food to be not only a good one, but a true one as well.
• You can’t win all the time. While some kitchens are doing great in certain areas – for example they source from a high number of organic, local hectares – they may not be doing well in another aspects – for example, their menu may be too heavy on meat and dairy, when compared to the EAT-Lancet Commission’s Planetary Health Diet. 
• Knowledge is not the only barrier. While chefs may be inspired to act, given this new way of seeing their impact on the food system, the system in place has created a path-dependency, which hinges on scarce resources, contractual obligations to large wholesalers, and convenience. It will take more than awareness and goal-setting to shift procurement towards more diversity, seasonality, traceability, and equity at the local level. 

Applying the insights gathered from professional kitchens in response to the tool, while relying on the latest food system science, we are now busy upgrading this “local food footprint” tool. We hope to empower food actors beyond chefs, such as wholesalers and online marketplaces, who can use the tool to shift the paradigm, and almost single-handedly create an environment within which their customers (including restaurants and canteens) can make informed choices when it comes to sustainable procurement.

Citizens- We need your help too!

As powerful as food businesses may be, however, the utility of a local food footprint calculator isn’t exclusively theirs. Strong and resilient local food systems also need ordinary citizens demanding products with positive social, economic, and environmental impacts at the local level. That’s why in the future, this tool is also meant to empower individuals to understand their own food footprint, and maximize the benefit of their every-day eating.

In order to move forward with tool development, we need to know: what motivates you to choose one food or one product over another? What do you find confusing, conflicting, or perhaps just missing from the information you’re presented with at the supermarket, on food labels, at your canteen, or at your local eatery?

Join FoodShift2030 by making your demands clear at foodshift2030@changingfood.dk, and join the Copenhagen Lab’s push for more transparent and resilient food systems. 

Photo credit: Marie Sainabou Jeng

The post A new tool for food system transformation appeared first on FoodSHIFT 2030.

In recent years, civic-driven action for food system transformation is spurring up across Europe. Within FoodSHIFT2030, partners from 12 European countries built up 9 innovations hubs to co-create sustainable and balanced solutions for food system change. 

While food system change is the smallest common nominator between the partners, the goals of the innovation hubs, however, are manifold. While Brasov focuses on linking regional farmers with the urban gastronomy, Avignon embraces healthy public school procurement or Ostend builds up food literacy and healthy communities. 

Regardless of the diverse actions, many share similar questions when organizing bottom-up food system change. Many ask themselves: How do we reach out to potential partners and how can we engage with diverse communities? Once people are motivated to join the activities, how do you keep them on board? And how can people be empowered to become active food citizens?

These questions and more were at the core of the showcase event in Berlin on September 1st-3rd 2021.

During the first day, a bike tour led the participants from one local project to another through the winding streets of a former working district in Berlin Wedding. First stop was at the Himmelbeet, a 1.700m2 community garden growing since 2013 on a former parking lot. Today, in 2021, the vibe of a parking lot (not much of a vibe) got transformed into a green between a major road, apartment buildings, and a soccer field. Marion de Simon from Himmelbeet shared stories on the garden’s history, forms of engagement, current activities and struggles, like access to land.Toni Karge from the Berlin Senate joined the discussion on the common struggle to secure access public land for community gardening in the long term. 

A different answer to the same questions on community engagement and empowerment was presented by Magdalena Knobel from the Food Policy Council Berlin. Motivated by the premises that everyone should have fair access to a healthy and balanced diet, the project “together at one table” was initiated. Within the project, Syrian and Afghan refugees cook with Berliners and come together at one table to share their stories, cultures and perspectives. Magalenda explains, “sustainable mean different things to different people and to feel included, people need to understand what’s going on on the ground”. 

“Understanding” is also of key importance to Gülcan Nitsch founder from Yesil Cember (Turkish: Green Circle), another project presented during the Berlin showcase event. Gülcan’s ambition is to sensitive and engage the Turkish Community in Germany for sustainability issues, like food systems. Gülcan reflects: “If people cannot read or write, than they can still come to our workshops. I do not exclude them. It is my responsibility to create access for these people.” 

A fourth vignette to community engagement and empowerment was presented by Johanna Kühn, co-founder of SuperCoop, a community-led supermarket. Through early neighbourhood engagement, information exchange and trust building, the SuperCoop succeeded in securing enough collective money to open up Berlin’s first citizen-owned supermarket.  

After a deep dive into Berlin’s richness of community-led food projects, the second day of the event was spent with Karen Wohlert and Scott Bolden at das Baumhaus. Das Baumhaus is an open socio-cultural project space for bottom-up sustainability solutions and the home of Berlin’s FoodSHIFT2030 innovation hub. Here, Berlin’s first food hub prototype is being co-created and built up for and with the local community.

During the showcase event, the visiting partners got to be part of the food hub for 1 day. Through hands on engagement, vegetables were sorted and distributed while food was prepared and finally enjoyed together on a long wooden table placed on the sidewalk and decorated with candles. The meal prepared was inspired by the planetary healthy diet, containing mixed herb salads, nuts, and oven roasted carrots and red beet from regional farmers. Smells of cinnamon and freshly baked bread filled the air with a cozy feeling, creating a perfect sense of what a mix of late summer and early fall might taste like. 

On September 3rd, the conversation on civic actions for food system transformation was opened up to a larger public. The day began with a hybrid panel discussion at the Baumhaus, in which Karen Wohlert (Baumhaus), Christian Bugge Henriksen & Luke Schafer (University of Copenhagen), Beatrice Walthall & José Luis Vicente Vicente (ZALF), Poppy Eyre & Dirk Wascher (Susmetro) and Lisa Haarhoff (Ernährungsrat Berlin) drew a connection between the current climate crisis, the EU project FoodSHIFT2030 and das Baumhaus as a food hub. 

Yet, the food hub would not exist without its wider network combining regional farmers, engaged citizens, and people form the local government. Therefore, the food hub network was introduced and represented by Simone Zeil (Ernährungsrat Brandenburg); Johanna Naatz (Auenhof / GemüseSyndikat); Lorena Unger (AG Urban); Ann-Christin Weber (Senate Department for Justice, Consumer Protection and Anti-Discrimination); Julia Scherer, District Office Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg; Annette Jensen (Ernährungsrat Berlin) and Karen Wohlert (Baumhaus Berlin). The Baumhaus was filled with an enthusiastic atmosphere as people from many different walks of life came together to work towards a common goal: Building up just and resilient food systems. 

After three action- and knowledge packed days, the participants left Berlin, but took more than just their suitcases with them. Along with many fruitful conversations, the relevance and diversity of inspiring, engaging and empowering people were most certainly among the key messages.

If we want to foster a transformation towards healthy communities and resilient food systems, we rely on each other. Only through the value of mutual support and partnerships can we continue our journey towards a low carbon, plant-based and circular food future.

The post Europe meets Berlin appeared first on FoodSHIFT 2030.

There are important dimensions to the places in which the communities in question participate. The first is the food local community. This community is a ‘community of interest’, i.e. a group of different people, who share a common interest for the food policy of the city, and related activities.

Beyond a community of interest that offers a framework for collective reflection, community engagement can be an active participation in “Citizen driven innovation” which are grass-root initiatives, that are new (in an incremental or radical way) and initiated by city-region inhabitants. 

The objectives of the webinar were the following: 

• Sharing experiences in establishing local food community and initiatives, and in contributing to the success of citizens/people led initiatives 
• Discussing main bottlenecks and difficulties 
• Brainstorming about pathways and communication tools which could help (=solutions) 
• Six cities actively participated in this learning process by exchanging experiences

Download the Report and Annex here: F2FAL Web#1 Factsheet.

Download reports per city:

• Avignon_F2F_web#1
• Barcelona_F2F_web#1
• Bari_F2F_web#1
• Copenhagen_F2F_web#1
• Oostende_F2F_web#1

The post Living LAB: Peer learning event appeared first on FoodSHIFT 2030.

We are very used to hear in the media and read in reports about the need for increasing regional food production and consumption (i.e. regional food self-sufficiency). But what does exactly “regional” mean when talking about food?

The answer is assessed in a scientific article recently published by scientists from the Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF) and the French Institute for Research on Agriculture, Food, and the Environment (INRAE) of Avignon, as part of the FOODSHIFT2030 project. 

In the assessment, the scientists have looked at the specific case of the city-region of Avignon (France). They found that the 30km-radius around the city (i.e. foodshed), a distance proposed by the French senate for proximity fresh vegetables and fruits, was not suitable for supplying the whole set of locally consumed food commodities. Furthermore, animal products that require extensive areas of pastures and grasslands, are only available at greater distances, towards the mountains. 

Therefore, the study proposes to adapt the concept of regional food self-sufficiency to the biophysical conditions specially pedoclimatic and geomorphology, regardless of the administrative boundaries. Furthermore, the foodshed concept should be rethought in order to combine the biophysical features with the socio-economic dimensions.

In this perspective, the authors introduce the concept of the archipelago foodshed, where the foodshed would not be a set of circles around the city but a combination of different surrounding agricultural areas that are functionally linked to the city in order to supply regionally grown food.

Read the full article here.

The post What does regional food mean? appeared first on FoodSHIFT 2030.

A healthy diet

The EAT-Lancet Commission brings together world-leading researchers in nutrition, health, sustainability and policy from across the globe. In early 2019 the ‘Food in the Anthropocene: the EAT–Lancet Commission on healthy diets from sustainable food systems’ was released, clearly concluding that diets primarily consisting of plants – fruits and vegetables – were considered to be the healthiest.

The report says:

‘A healthy diet should optimize health, defined broadly as being a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease. (…) Healthy diets have an optimal caloric intake and consist largely of a diversity of plant-based foods, low amounts of animal source foods, contain unsaturated rather than saturated fats, and limited amounts of refined grains, highly processed foods and added sugars.’

To guide consumers, the report suggests the ‘Planetary-Diet’, a model that uses a plate to visualise the necessary proportions of each food-group needed in order to reach health boundaries for humans, at the same time as respecting planetary boundaries.

Planet and plate

The Commission concluded that not only human health was necessary to healthy diets. Planetary health is also crucial. The Planetary-Diet plate represents a diet that can provide us with the nutrients we need whilst also ensuring consumption stays within planetary boundaries. ‘50% fruits and vegetables’ is recommended, with smaller portions of grains, plant sourced protein, unsaturated plant oils, dairy foods and animal protein. Starchy vegetables and added sugars have the smallest recommended consumption.

FoodSHIFT 2030 aims to provide pathways for a wide customary take-up of such a diet. The EAT project ‘Shifting Urban Diets’, which has synergies with the FoodSHIFT viewpoint, was presented by Emily Norford as an example of an approach to ‘make healthy and sustainable food the default for city dwellers.’ See the example now on the webinar playback.

The post What does a plant-based diet really mean? appeared first on FoodSHIFT 2030.

The latest briefing released by consortium member, UK-based, Sustain, makes the case that good food, farming and fishing should be put at the heart of investment and policies to support an economic recovery, and make it a green, fair and healthy one.

The report, provided to FoodSHIFT 2030 by Ben Reynolds, Sustain’s Deputy Chief Executive, suggests that food and farming are being overlooked as mechanisms to drive economic recovery across the UK. And yet food, farming and fishing sectors, particularly those which are more environmentally sustainable and make healthier options more accessible, affordable and attractive, could with the right backing deliver on these benefits whilst also delivering on more jobs and better livelihoods.

Read the full article and download the report on the Sustain website, here.

The post Putting good food jobs at the heart of the economic recovery appeared first on FoodSHIFT 2030.

Facilitating the innovation (WP1) – Led by Flanders Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food (EV ILVO)

In WP1 the FoodSHIFT Accelerator Labs (FALs) will be established to explore the existing food system innovations within the front-runner city-regions, including the associated opportunities and barriers for further innovation. The work package leaders will co-develop common priorities for each FAL, empower citizen-driven transformation, and create tailor-made trajectories for food system innovations.  

Accelerating the solution (WP2) – Led by Susmetro 

In WP2 the FALs Labs will work actively on accelerating food system transition in the front-runner city-regions by maturing, combining and upscaling existing food system innovations to make them economically viable, including the creation of business plans.  

This work package consists of co-developing strategic implementation targets for the acceleration of food system innovations based on sustainable design and circular economy principles. It will assess the societal and technological readiness of existing food system innovations and combine and scale-up projects with comprehensive business plans.  

Assessing the benefits (WP3) – Led by Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences

In WP3 the benefits of existing and accelerated food system innovations will be determined by assessing their effects on a set of FoodSHIFT Indicators. This work package consists of identifying and classifying economic, environmental, and societal indicators for assessing the benefits of food system innovations. This will be done through the collection of primary and secondary data and evaluating the current state of food systems in front-runner city-regions. This work package will also model land system dynamics to co-construct a spatial model and scenarios for maturing, combining, and upscaling food system innovations in collaboration with the FALs.  

Governing the transition (WP4) – Led by the Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research 

In WP4 strategies and advisory plans for citizen-driven food system governance at the city-region level will be co-created in the FALs. This work package will promote citizen-driven strategies for improving local food governance. This will be done through the creation of a practice-based framework, co-created strategies. and institutional learning, to foster the market uptake of new food system innovations in the front-runner regions.  

Multiplying the impact (WP5) – led by Agrathaer GMBH 

WP5 provides knowledge transfer and learning possibilities for the FAL and with numerous European cities and food innovations. This WP will facilitate knowledge transfer between FALs and between the FALs and new FELs will take place. A further transition of the food system beyond the FoodSHIFT2030 project will be obtained by creating a snowball effect of targeted knowledge transfer via several city and region networks. 

Blueprinting the future (WP6) – led by University of Copenhagen 

In WP6 four Impact Pathways will be operationalized to ensure that citizen empowerment, job creation, sustainability and food system transition are adequately addressed and fully integrated across the WPs, and that the outputs of the individual WPs will have tangible outcomes and real life impact for the citizens, policymakers, businesses and the environment in both the participating city-regions and in the EU as a whole. 

See our Impact Pathways post for more information. 

Dissemination, Exploitation, and Communication (WP7) led by Fab Lab Barcelona at IAAC 

WP7 guides communication, exploitation and dissemination support and gives training on how to communicate effectively in your city-region. WP7 objectives are to raise awareness of food system innovations, showcasing how the engagement of citizens in a transition of European food systems can contribute in solving the challenges of food security, GHG emissions, and at the same time revitalize urban-rural linkages. 

Project Management (WP8) and Ethics Requirements (WP9) – led by University of Copenhagen 

WP8 will ensure efficient implementation of the FoodSHIFT 2030 project with the specific objectives of ensuring project milestones, efficient communication, creation of technical repots and overall project management. This will include maintaining an overview of the project as well as oversee key processes including data management and innovation management.  

WP9 objectives are to ensure compliance with the ethics requirements associated with data protection and the participation of people within project activities.  

The post A glimpse into the FoodSHIFT 2030 work packages appeared first on FoodSHIFT 2030.

Four ‘horizontal’ Impact Pathways will be operationalized to ensure that citizen empowerment, job creation, sustainability, and food system transition are adequately addressed and fully integrated across the work packages (WPs). The Impact Pathways will ensure that the outputs of the individual WPs have tangible outcomes and real-life impact for citizens, policymakers, businesses, and the environment in both the participating city-regions and in the EU. These Impact Pathways safeguard the development of four FoodSHIFT Blueprints which aim to continue beyond the project lifetime, continuing to support the food system transition towards a low carbon, circular future by 2030.  

FoodSHIFT 2030 four Impact Pathways which centre around the FALs.

The four FoodSHIFT 2030 Impact Pathways 

Impact Pathway 1 – Citizen Empowerment led by Flanders (ILVO) 

The FoodSHIFT Citizen Empowerment scheme will empower citizens in all European and global city-regions to influence the way their food is produced, distributed, consumed, and recycled. 

This impact pathway will unlock civic potential, ensuring that citizen-driven innovation and citizen participation will be the cornerstone of all FoodSHIFT Accelerator Labs. The FoodSHIFT project will also develop customized FoodSHIFT Sensor Kits – in which citizens can actively participate in citizen science, collect data, and relay this to the Smart Citizen Platform. The Citizen Empowerment scheme will promote citizen-driven strategies for improving food system governance whilst also placing them in the center of the knowledge transfer ecosystem and ensuring their involvement in the four FoodSHIFT Blueprints. The FoodSHIFT Citizen Empowerment Scheme will be co-created together with citizens active in the FALs and the FELs (FoodSHIFT Enabler Labs). The scheme will feature interactive tutorials and downloadable files outlining the actions that local governments, SMEs, NGOs, and citizens themselves can take in order to facilitate the empowerment of citizens in all European and global city-regions to influence the way their food is produced, distributed, consumed and recycled.  

Impact pathway 2 – Job Creation, led by Universita Degli Studi Di Milano (UMIL). 

The FoodSHIFT Job Creation Platform will provide information about business development, job creation and job opportunities targeted for SMEs, NGOs, municipalities and citizens  

Job Creation will be central to FoodSHIFT 2030 when defining common priorities and the tailor-made trajectories for the FALs. This includes realistic job creation plans within innovative business plans for food system accelerations. The Job Creation Platform will support business development for food sector start-ups and ensure that this knowledge is included in the knowledge transfer between FALs, from FALs to FELs, and via city and region networks.

The FoodSHIFT Job Creation Platform will be designed with the FALs and made available online. It will provide information for SMEs on how to develop and operationalize a business plan, raise capital for food system innovations, and recruit the most qualified employees; NGOs on how to develop and operationalize a non-profit strategic plan, obtain funding for food system projects, and recruit the most qualified employees; municipalities on how to facilitate food sector start-ups, support business development and promote job creation in the food sector; unemployed citizens on how to qualify for, apply for and obtain a job in the food sector and retailers and food companies on how to find local partners to implement and strengthen local value chains. 

Impact pathway 3 – Sustainability, led by DRAXIS. 

Developing the Sustainability Scoring System will make it possible for food system stakeholders around the world to assess the impacts of different food system innovations on the Sustainable Development Goals.

FoodSHIFT 2030 will ensure that the SDGs are considered across the project, including as common priorities for the FALs, implementation targets, accelerating the innovations, and co-creating the business plans. Sustainability indicators will be developed and utilized in the assessment of food systems and food system innovations. The FoodSHIFT Sustainability Scoring System will be co-developed together with the FALs. The Sustainability Scoring System will be made available online to enable food system stakeholders around the world to assess the impacts of different food system innovations on the SDGs. 

Impact pathway 4 – Food System Transition, led by SUSMETRO. 

The FoodSHIFT Transition Toolkit will be co-created to guide SMEs, NGOs, local governments and citizens on how to design a sustainable local food system, in which citizens are empowered to take an active part in the food system transition and influence the way their food is produced, distributed, consumed and recycled.  

The FoodSHIFT Transition Toolkit will extract the cumulative knowledge on all aspects of food system innovation generated throughout the project. The Toolkit will offer multi-criteria search functions on a wide range of food system innovation issues such as assessment models, indicators, expert profiles, and comprehensive information on Food System Innovation Good Practice. The Toolkit will be connected to the wider FoodSHIFT knowledge base, providing access to in-depth background information on project results such as innovation trajectories and footprint assessment. The Toolkit will also include the FoodSHIFT Citizen Empowerment Scheme, the FoodSHIFT Job Creation Platform, and the FoodSHIFT Sustainability Scoring System. 

The FoodSHIFT Transition Toolkit will be made available online to guide: SMEs on how to accelerate food system innovations and develop their businesses, empower citizens, create jobs and contribute to a sustainable food system transition; NGOs on how to co-create a sustainable local food system, in which citizens are empowered to take an active part in the food system transition and influence the way their food is produced, distributed, consumed and recycled; municipalities on the best food system innovations in the city-region and how to support the transition towards a low carbon, circular future and, citizens on how to get started with designing their own local food system and contributing to the transition of the food system from a primarily meat-based diet to a more plant-based diet.

The post FoodSHIFT 2030 Impact Pathways appeared first on FoodSHIFT 2030.