Food Partnership members meet in Lisbon to drive forward the Food Action Plan
The Food Transition Strategy of the Lisbon Metropolitan Area
The meeting was opened by the Food co-coordinators, Joao Lopes from the Lisbon Metropolitan Area and Chiara Mandelli from the City of Milan, followed by a welcome speech from Cristina Escórcio, Metropolitan Secretary of the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, who welcomed the participants and highlighted the Lisbon Metropolitan Area’s commitment to implementing its Food Transition Strategy, both at the EU level and locally.
The actions being implemented by the Food Partnership are closely interconnected with the ongoing food transition process in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area.
This link was also emphasised by the key stakeholders who participated in the meeting, including Rosário Oliveira from the FoodLink network.
FoodLink, the Network for Food Transition in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, brings together a diverse range of local authorities, initiatives, and stakeholders working to plan and manage the metropolitan food system. The network currently comprises around 30 organisations and aims to expand its membership to involve a broader range of stakeholders across the metropolitan food system. FoodLink’s vision for 2030 is to ensure that approximately 15% of the metropolitan area’s food supply is sourced through sustainable production methods, including organic farming, integrated pest management, and agroecology. The vision also promotes innovative solutions, such as improved irrigation water management, pesticide reduction, soil conservation, and climate adaptation, alongside low-carbon distribution networks and local food systems that meet criteria for inclusion and food security.
The TAC project, co-funded by the European Union, translates this vision into practical implementation by bringing together eight actors through a collaborative approach that fosters collective learning, strengthens networking, amplifies the impact of actions, and facilitates the replication of best practices across other territories.
Learn more about the Food Transition Strategy and the FoodLink Network:
Support mechanisms for durable local food policies
FoodLink is one of the key examples of a support mechanism providing long-term support for food policies, as identified through the analytical research carried out by the Partnership on Action 2 “Showcasing the role of regional and national actors in supporting local food policies”.
The key findings emerging from Actions 2 and 3 were brought to life through two interactive workshops held on the first day of the meeting. Rather than simply presenting the results, the workshops invited participants to question, discuss and collectively explore what these findings mean in practice.
The first workshop focused on a central challenge: How can we build a durable support route for local food policies? Participants were invited to discuss and validate the key recommendations identified through Action 2, with a particular focus on what local authorities actually need to turn food policy ambitions into long-term action.
This led to one of the workshop's key questions: “How can public responsibility for local food policy action be strengthened?”
The discussion showed that there is no single pathway to achieving this. Instead, different approaches can reinforce public responsibility in different contexts. Among the elements highlighted were stronger links between food policy and public services, supported by a clearly identified administrative structure, as well as the creation of interdepartmental task forces that can bring together the different areas of public administration involved in food systems.
But governance structures alone are not enough to ensure long-term change. From a sustainability perspective, participants also highlighted the importance of communication and storytelling. Building and maintaining a compelling narrative around local food policies can help raise awareness among public decision-makers, demonstrate the concrete benefits of the policies already implemented, and strengthen continued political and institutional support.
In other words, the challenge is not simply to create a policy, it is to create the conditions that allow it to endure. Strong institutional ownership, collaboration across departments, adequate resources and a clear narrative about the benefits of action can together provide the foundations for a lasting support route for local food policies.
Check out the Evidence and Policy Brief to learn more about the proposed policy recommendations for Action 2.
How can local food policies work more effectively hand in hand with regional strategies?
This was the central question explored during the workshop on Action 3: “Connecting local food strategies with S3/RIS3 and regional programmes.” The workshop provided an opportunity for participants to exchange ideas, identify common challenges, and explore practical ways to strengthen the links between local food policies and relevant regional strategies, particularly Smart Specialisation Strategies (S3/RIS3).
The discussion was structured around two key questions:
- 1.From a municipal perspective: What actions at regional level could enhance the impact of local food policies?
- 2.Looking from the other direction: What local public actions could make a significant contribution to achieving the objectives of regional strategies?
To explore these questions from different perspectives, participants were divided into four thematic groups, reflecting key areas also addressed by S3 agri-food partnerships: Employment, Health, Climate, and Food Security.
The discussions generated a wide range of ideas and suggestions for strengthening connections between local and regional levels. Despite approaching the issue from different thematic perspectives, participants identified several common needs. One particularly strong message was the importance of shared information and data infrastructures. Regional digital platforms or databases could help municipalities access and exchange relevant information, making it easier to demonstrate the links between local food actions and broader regional objectives.
For example, in the Health theme, shared data could help highlight the relationship between food systems, healthy diets, and health outcomes. In the Climate group, common information could help demonstrate the contribution of sustainable food systems to greenhouse gas emission reductions. Meanwhile, for Employment, improved regional information systems could make employment opportunities, available support schemes, and relevant resources more visible and accessible across municipalities.
Check out the Evidence and Policy Brief to learn more about the proposed policy recommendations for Action 3.
Visit to Quinta do Pisão and the community vegetable gardens
The first day of the meeting offered an in-depth look at inspiring local initiatives focused on regenerative farming practices and on strengthening the connection between land protection, food production and community participation.
Set within 380 hectares of protected landscape, Quinta do Pisão is much more than a nature park. Bruno Sardo welcomed the members of the Partnership and provided an overview of the historical background of Quinta do Pisão. Redeveloped by Cascais Municipal Council, it is a living space where nature, agriculture, biodiversity, culture and community come together. Visitors can explore the landscape, discover traditional ways of working the land, learn about the environment, and take part in activities ranging from education and conservation to art and environmental volunteering.
At the heart of this approach are the Terras de Cascais’ community gardens, developed by Cascais Ambiente as spaces where people can reconnect with the land and with one another, around the principle that seasonal, local and organic food should be accessible to everyone.
Residents can grow and harvest their own fresh vegetables, creating a direct connection between people, food and the places where they live. The story began in 2009, when Cascais Municipality created its first allotment and community gardens in response to growing demand from residents who wanted to transform underused green spaces into productive gardens. The response has been remarkable. Demand for plots has continued to grow, resulting in a steadily expanding waiting list.
André Miguel and Diogo Coelho, members of the Terras de Cascais team, explained that the "gardens are not simply spaces for growing vegetables. They have become places for learning, social interaction and community life, bringing together residents from different generations and backgrounds around a shared interest in healthy food and sustainable living".
Several elements have contributed to the success of the initiative. The municipality maintains close contact with gardeners through regular visits and ongoing support. An online waiting list helps keep the allocation of plots transparent and responsive to demand. The gardens are also deliberately integrated into the wider landscape, with low fencing and open designs that allow residents and visitors to see, access and engage with them.
The community gardens form part of a broader strategy to make Cascais a greener, more resilient and more connected place, which includes: community orchards and vineyards, creating additional spaces for local food production and community participation, Horta do Brejo, an organic vegetable garden located within a prison and designed to support therapeutic and social integration objectives, the restoration of the Carcavelos wine tradition, reviving the production of a distinctive fortified wine associated with one of Portugal’s smallest wine-growing regions.
Together, these initiatives demonstrate how relatively simple interventions can generate wide-ranging social, environmental and economic benefits. By bringing food production, biodiversity, education and community life back into the landscape, Cascais is creating spaces that are not only greener, but also more connected, inclusive and resilient.
During the visit, Lille Métropole also presented several initiatives focused on land protection, soil restoration and the development of sustainable food systems. Among these were Circulandia and Regensoill, which illustrate Lille Métropole’s broader land strategy and its holistic approach to territorial management. This approach reflects a wider paradigm shift from managing environmental impacts towards the sustainable management, restoration and regeneration of natural resources. Within this strategy, soil restoration is a key priority. Soil is recognised as a fundamental resource that supports biodiversity, regulates water, enables food production and contributes to the overall resilience of urban ecosystems.
Lille Métropole also presented the Social Food Web project, which aims to strengthen policies supporting local food systems and short food supply chains, making them more effective, sustainable, connected and inclusive while applying circular economy principles. The project supports policymakers by facilitating connections with peers from other regions as well as with local stakeholders across the food chain. Through the exchange of experiences, knowledge and good practices, Social Food Web seeks to contribute to the development of more effective policies and to foster sustainable, resilient and inclusive local food systems.
Advancing the implementation of the Actions: next steps
The second day of the meeting was dedicated to discussing the key activities supporting the implementation of the remaining Actions and to planning the next steps for the Food Partnership. Among the key developments discussed were:
- Action 4 - Urban Food Policy Training: Further training activities will be organised, including an in-person training session in Rotterdam focused on school meals, jointly with the MUFFP Secretariat and the Eurocities Working Group on Food. Additional capacity-building activities are planned for 2026–2027, linked to the analysis of two key topics: how to resource local food policies and the role of wholesale markets as key infrastructure for sustainable food systems.
- Action 5 - Public land for local food policies: Another webinar on public land will be organised on 26 October. Following this, the Partnership will develop a policy brief presenting key recommendations and will continue organising webinars featuring case studies and examples to foster knowledge exchange among local authorities.
- Action 6 - Selecting inidctaors for urban food systems: Work on indicators has already resulted in the development of a first policy brief. The document sheds light on existing frameworks, highlights opportunities and barriers identified through dialogue with cities and interest groups and provides key recommendations for cities and EU stakeholders. Following a meeting with EU stakeholders, the policy brief will be widely disseminated.
- Action 7 - Promoting sustainable Public Food Procurement: An Opinion Paper on the new Public Procurement Regulation will be prepared in collaboration with the Public Procurement Partnership.
By bringing together municipalities, regions and key stakeholders working across different food-system challenges, the Partnership continues to build a shared knowledge base and identify practical steps towards more sustainable, inclusive and resilient food systems.
Stay tuned to the Food Thematic webpage to stay informed about upcoming initiatives.