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GoodFood – Sustainability in Catering Schools

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Agreement Number: 2024-1-DE02-KA220-VET-000248007

Program and Call

KA220 VET – Cooperation partnership in vocational education and training (VET)
Call 2024, round 1

The project: objectives and results

Food is one of the central issues in the climate change agenda. It has become increasingly evident that for production and distribution to evolve in a sustainable direction, food choices must also become more conscious. Markets are also beginning to change: consumers in the food industry are becoming more sensitive to the ethical and environmental implications of their behaviors, and food service companies need professionals ready to respond to these needs. It is critical that future industry professionals are fully aware of the importance of their choices and that they acquire sustainable habits and bring them into the workplace.

For this reason, GoodFood aims to create resources and educational materials that help hospitality schools in the sustainable training of future chefs. The goal is to help students develop sustainable habits that they can apply not only in school, but also in their future workplaces, through building specific knowledge and skills, as well as implementing real sustainability action. GoodFood aims to help students become active members of society, contributing to the equitable and sustainable development of their communities.

The partnership includes 4 members of the international sustainability network Global Action Plan International (already part of the Erasmus+ Foodtalks project dedicated to canteen sustainability), 3 hospitality schools from Spain, the Netherlands and Germany, and an Italian foundation that is very active in the field of food sustainability that will also help reach out to some Italian hospitality schools.

 

Project outcomes include:

– a methodological framework applicable in any European hospitality and catering school;

– a framework of actions dedicated to hospitality schools, replicable in any European school;

– an online platform with training content on health, environment, social justice and economy (manuals, questionnaires and other resources);

– online tools based on the train-the-trainer method, focusing on empowerment, behavioral change, and conscious choices in terms of environmental and social impacts;

– case studies related to hospitality schools in each partner country that can serve as inspiration for other schools.

 

Target groups:

Direct target:

– Students

Through the project, they will learn how to integrate sustainable habits into their activities at school, in extracurricular projects and in the future workplace.

– Teachers

GoodFood will support them in enriching their curriculum through the exploration of topics such as empowerment, behavioral change and conscious choice, with a critical approach aimed at addressing food issues holistically.

– School organization

The project will also assist leaders and staff in developing strategies and perspectives based on an equitable and sustainable food system that can overcome existing barriers and support students’ educational experience.

– Companies in the food service industry (not only restaurants, but also hotels), directly affected as hosts of trainees from hotel schools and future jobs for female students. It will be here that students will put into practice the sustainable knowledge gained in school.

 

Indirect target:

– Local stakeholders active in terms of sustainable development

They will become the hotel schools’ natural partners through concrete actions, specific projects and targeted partnerships.

– Food suppliers of the school system (local producers and distributors)

They will be invited to participate directly in the school’s sustainable path.

– Families 

Students, teachers and managers will be their reference points for sustainable food habits.

 

Project phases:

Programme development (methodology, content and platform)                                                                              

  • Stakeholders engagement
  • Design and development of contents
  • Design and development of the online platform
  • LTTA Transnational meeting

 

Implementation and evaluation

  • Contents’ testing and workshop
  • Implementation of the materials at national level in the 4 countries
  • Evaluation

 

Project leader:

agado Gesellschaft für nachhaltige Entwicklung UG (Germany)

 

Partnership: 

  • Stichting Global Action Plan Nederland (Netherlands)
  • InEuropa SRL (Italy)
  • ASOCIACION PLAN DE ACCION GLOBAL PARA LA TIERRA GAP ESPANA (Spain)
  • Berufsschulzentrum Ansbach-Triesdorf (Germany)
  • Fondazione Castello di Padernello (Italy)
  • IES ESCUELA DE HOSTELERIA DE LEIOA BHI (Spain)
  • Stichting Regionaal Onderwijs Centrum Noord-Oost Brabant (Netherlands)

 

Duration

24 months (1st December 2024-30th November 2026)

 

Budget

400,000 €

RUSTIK

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RUSTIK

Rural Sustainability Transitions through Integration of Knowledge for improved policy processes

Program and call for proposals

Horizon Europe, Research and Innovation Actions, Action “Resilient, inclusive, healthy and green rural, coastal and urban communities” call 2021

Active project

Brief description

RUSTIK is a transdisciplinary research project that aims to enable rural community actors and policy makers to design better strategies, initiatives and policies, to facilitate transitions towards rural sustainability through an advanced understanding of the diverse functionalities, characteristics and future of rural areas, their potentials and challenges. To prepare for the growing social and ecological challenges, the project includes an analysis of current adaptation requirements and support for effective rural policy-making processes.

InEuropa srl supports OI Pomodoro da Industria Nord Italia in management activities.

Objectives

The objectives of the project are:

  • To provide a sound methodological framework for functional rural areas;
  • To define databases that integrate data of different types and from different sources;
  • To devise better strategies and governance approaches for policy makers and rural stakeholders;
  • To develop better approaches for rural impact assessment and decentralized rural proofing.

Actions

Starting from the basic idea that practical solutions must be collaboratively created in real-world settings, the project’s main activities involve Living Labs in 14 European Pilot Regions in the 10 European countries involved. They are the main tool for collaboration with stakeholders, and serve as a platform for implementing, evaluating and understanding social and technical innovations in a real-world context.

These are the key elements of an action-oriented multi-actor approach to researching rural diversity and social transformation, used to bring stakeholders together to develop and test new ways to solve problems in their regions.

All project activities are supported by a comprehensive communication and dissemination strategy to maximize the impact of RUSTIK.

Results

The main results of the project are:

  • The implementation of 14 databases at the regional level and 1 RUSTIK information system at the European level.
  • To improve the knowledge and capacity of stakeholders by disseminating innovative methods of data collection and analysis to ensure understanding of the diversity and dynamics of rural areas.
  • To devise innovative methods and processes for designing and evaluating policies and strategies, e.g., a standardized model for decentralized rural proofing, approaches for designing interventions, improving the policy governance framework.

Lead partner

Institute for Rural Development Research (DE)

Partnership

  • Council for Agricultural Research and Analysis of Agricultural Economics – IT
  • MCRIT – Multicriteria Planning – ES
  • University of Gloucestershire – UK
  • University of Eastern Finland – FI
  • Federal Institute of Agricultural Economics, Rural and Mountain Research – AT
  • Galician Enterprise-University Foundation – ES
  • Euromontana – FR
  • University of Ljubljana – SI
  • Faculty of Agriculture- University of Belgrade – RS
  • Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization Polish Academy of Sciences – PL
  • European Leader Association for Rural Development – BE
  • Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski – BG
  • GAL MontagnAppennino- IT
  • Regional Development Agency Eastern Serbia – RS
  • Allium, Employment Centre, Zoo Soc. Ent. – SI
  • Association of the city of Troyan, Apriltsi and Ougarchin – BG
  • OI Pomodoro da Industria Nord Italia – IT
  • Regional Council of North Karelia – FI
  • University of Santiago de Compostela – ES
  • Rhein-Hunsrück Regional Economic Council – DE
  • Spittal-Millstättersee-Lieser-Malta-Nockberge Regional Association – AT
  • Foundation for the Development of Polish Agriculture – PL
  • Jan Kochanowski University of Kielce – PL
  • Decentralized Municipal Entity of Sant Miquel de Balenyà – ES
  • Galician Agency for Rural Development – ES
  • University of Strathclyde – UK
  • Gloucestershire Rural Community Council – UK
  • MapitaOy – FI
  • Monmouthshire County Council – UK
  • Ersilia Foundation – ES

Duration

The project has a duration of 48 months (September 1, 2022 – August 31, 2026)

Total budget

The total budget is €5,886,818.88, 100% subsidized by the EC. It is supplemented by a Research and Innovation fund earmarked for the participation of United Kingdom entities amounting to €1,099,629.70

Funding body

European Commission – EuropeanResearch Executive Agency