On February 18–19, the kick-off meeting of the RegioFoodS project took place at the University of Helsinki, Finland. The meeting was attended by the LAMMC representative, Dr. Skaidrė Supronienė. The project is funded under the international “FutureFoodS Call 1” initiative, which involves 36 funding organizations from 19 countries and the European Commission. Together they have allocated more than €32 million to support innovations in sustainable food systems. Out of 275 submitted proposals, 23 projects were selected for funding, including RegioFoodS.
The project is coordinated by the University of Helsinki (Ruralia Institute). The consortium brings together 11 partners from seven countries in the Nordic and Baltic region. The main objective of the project is to strengthen the resilience, sustainability, and adaptive capacity of regional food systems in response to challenges related to climate change, biodiversity, health, and social justice.
Project activities include the analysis and comparative assessment of regional food systems, stakeholder engagement and food flow studies, the development of a methodology for resilience assessment, analysis of operational scenarios up to 2050, and the preparation of policy recommendations. The project will also develop an international monitoring platform for food system resilience aimed at strengthening dialogue between science, policy, and society in the Nordic and Baltic region.
Participants in the Lithuanian partner group:
LAMMC contributes to the analysis of regional food systems, the development of resilience assessment methodology, data collection, and the dissemination of project results. The centre’s expertise in agriculture, environmental protection, and sustainability provides a strong basis for contributing to scientifically grounded solutions that enhance the resilience of food systems in Lithuania and across the region.
During the meeting, the partners presented their work plans, aligned the methodological approach, and launched the first project activities (T1.1, T1.2, T6.1–T6.3).
The project provides an opportunity to strengthen cooperation between Nordic and Baltic countries, exchange data and best practices, and develop science-based policy recommendations aimed at improving the resilience of regional food systems.
This project is part of the Programme of FutureFoodS, co-funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement No. 101136361.
Photos ©Jennifer Avci, Sustainable Gastro
