Sustainable Food

Following the good results of the first edition of this project, the current school year brings a second edition with the participation of many more schools and agricultural and livestock farms. 

This new edition has some new features to it, such as the educational support guide for the teaching community, who will get training during the course of February to learn how to get the most from the guide and prepare the school and its students fro establishing a link and commitment with the twinned farm. 

In March it will be the turn of dining hall management companies, who will get advice on facilitating and supporting the link between the farmers and the school dining room. The overall aim is to facilitate the implementation of the project in the participating schools.

Thetwinning project between schools and farms is an initiative promoted by the Government of Catalonia, Barcelona City Council and the Joint Office for Sustainable Food, within the context of the Food Strategy of Catalonia 2025-2028 and the Barcelona Health and Sustainable Food Strategy 2030, with the collaboration of the programme Healthier and More Sustainable School Dining Rooms, the Green Schools Network and theSchools for Sustainability Network of Catalonia.

More schools, more impact

This year’s edition will see the number of participating schools rise from four to sixteen, mostly publicly operated schools, with a total of 511 students to follow the teaching programme. The action carried out in dining rooms will also benefit 3,410 students, 1,845 of them with dining room grants.

Five of the schools are in the city of Barcelona and 11 are in the Barcelona Metropolitan Region, located in the counties of Maresme, Vallès Oriental, Vallès Occidental, Barcelonès, Baix Llobregat and Garraf. 

These schools have been twinned with local farming enterprises in nearby agricultural and rural areas. In all, the initiative has involved 13 farming projects producing basic foods such as cereals, pulses, fruit, vegetables, dairy produce, eggs and meat.

In addition, part of the wealth of this project lies in the diversity of stakeholders involved, broadening the scope of the initiative, such as the 11 dining room management companies for the participating schools, the Ortiga cooperative, the Agroecological Network of School Dining Halls of Catalonia and the Leader de Ponent Association with its Cúpula Gustum project, plus the schools and farming projects.

Teaching guide: a tool for teachers

To facilitate the implementation of the project, the Ministry for Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food with the Government of Catalonia has developed a teaching guide which is available for any school. 

The guide explains that it is important for schools to be twinned with farming projects to transmit to children and young people important themes such as sustainability, healthy food and a knowledge of the rural environment. 

In terms of the specific goals of the programme, the guide focuses on promoting the consumption of local produce, education on the production cycle of food and the promotion of healthy food habits for people and the planet. 

It also includes a good number of teaching activities that can be carried out in schools or at agricultural or livestock enterprises, as well as guided tours, practical workshops and collaborative projects. It includes educational resources and materials that can be used by teachers when preparing activities and sessions.