FOODPathS CSA – one year on the route to the SFS Partnership

The (European) food sector is challenged by current developments worldwide such as climate change, food insecurity, food affordability, and food waste. The unsustainability of the food system affects human health and the accessibility to a healthy diet for all. Coordinated action is needed for the transition towards a healthy and sustainable food system. The FOODPathS Coordination and Support Action (CSA) started in June 2022 and has now been running for over a year.

The project is developing a functional prototype of the European Partnership for Sustainable Food Systems (SFS) for people, planet and climate under the Horizon Europe framework. HDHL is as partner in the FOODPathS project, and with its experience in the European funding landscape, involved in the work package to set up a funders network which is aimed at cocreating funding mechanisms for food systems approaches. HDHL is also involved in the communication, dissemination and evaluation (CDE) activities of the FOODPathS project.

In the first year of FOODPathS, the project partners set up a:

  • Network of Food System Living Labs
    FOODPathS is setting the structure for a European Knowledge Hub composed of a network of Food Systems Living Labs. Food Systems Living Labs are understood as collaborative, stakeholder-driven Research & Innovation (R&I) approaches to co-create new products and services that support the transition to Sustainable Food Systems.

  • Network of Universities
    FOODPathS is setting up of a network of university-driven local food ecosystems that connects unique and exemplary European HEI’s and Food Science & Experience Parks, Living Labs, and Regional Cluster Activities. Actors involved in the network adhere to a code of practice and action plan that motivates the organisation, staff, and students to foster Food 2030-inspired food system transition. 

  • Funders network
    The funders network spans multiple European countries to co-develop and explore good practices, to transform the current way of funding to more food systems oriented funding approaches with a greater potential to support the development of solutions for the challenges faced by the current food system. The work within this project component is carried out with diverse stakeholders: public funders, private funders, Research Performing Organisations and also other stakeholders in the food systems research funding landscape.
     
  • Collaboration with mirror groups
    FoodPathS is working with mirror groups in Europe and beyond to ensure that the SFS Partnership includes all farm-to-fork (F2F) voices. Participants in the mirror groups include local, regional, and national representatives from the public sector, civil society, farmer organizations and other private sector parties.

With still two years ahead the project partners will make sure to deliver all insights and ideas developed during the runtime of the project to the future SFS Partnership consortium. The FOODPathS partners and the consortium for the future Partnership are therefore already exploring concrete ways for close collaboration.

Are you curious to know more about the FOODPathS CSA? Have a look at the website or read the article published in the The Project Repository Journal (PRj).

Subjects

Nutrition