Do you need funding for your sustainable food project?

The connection between the countryside and the city – which encourages consumption of local, organic food for a healthier, more sustainable lifestyle – is essential for sustainable food projects to grow and thrive.

Grants for sustainable food projects

Barcelona City Council is offering various grants to promote sustainable food.

These include the ‘Impulsem el que fas’ [We promote what you do] programme, which offers grants of up to 80% for projects that activate neighbourhood economies and has specific options for funding sustainable agri-food models and responsible consumption, and the Climate Grants, which incentivise projects with sustainable food at their core that promote the fight against the climate emergency.

Sustainability is also a key part of the Escoles + Sostenibles [More Sustainable Schools] grant and the ordinary grant for organisations.

This perspective has also been incorporated into the Conjuntament matchfunding programme organised by Goteo with the support of Barcelona City Council to promote 24 local economic development projects. What is more, infrastructures and resources have been given to organised consumer groups, like FoodCoop, Barcelona’s first cooperative supermarket.

Advice

Barcelona Activa offers technical advice, entrepreneurship programmes, and an expert business funding advice service. In addition, Barcelona Activa has specialised in the social and solidarity economy, a booming, socially responsible sector that values and is based on healthy, sustainable food.

Local Agri-food Exchange Centre

Various organisations and public administrations in Barcelona are striving to promote initiatives that support the sale and distribution of local food produce. One of them is the newly created Local Agri-food Exchange Centre (CIAP), a logistical and commercial platform designed to improve logistics for local producers and traders. Its aim is to facilitate food distribution and bring producers and consumers together on a local and regional scale.

Sustainable public procurement

For a number of years, Barcelona City Council has been promoting sustainable public procurement.

The introduction of environmental criteria in municipal public procurement is one of the key tools for promoting ongoing improvement processes for increasing efficiency in the consumption of natural and economic resources and reducing the environmental impact associated with municipal activity. Barcelona City Council is working hard within the framework of the 2012–2022 Citizen Commitment to Sustainability to introduce sustainability criteria into its activity and management. To this end, it has developed the Ajuntament + Sostenible programme.

It has also presented a guide to public procurement for innovation to help with the strategical channelling of the city’s purchasing power and put it at the service of the public. Using innovative procurement, Barcelona is aiming to help create jobs and growth in the city and boost its social and environmental values while also giving support to innovative undertakings geared towards solving the public’s problems.

One of the most successful sustainable public procurement initiatives is the ‘Healthy, sustainable cafeterias’ project, the aim of which is to promote the use of local, seasonal, organic products in municipal cafeterias. This project mainly focuses on nursery school cafeterias and community kitchens.