1. Continuing the SAPIENS Policy Brief Series with a Focus on the Public Food Sector

Governments worldwide procure food and catering services for public institutions such as schools, universities and hospitals. Public food procurement (PFP) involves food production, distribution and consumption practices and has significant impacts on food availability and accessibility. Public purchasers can thus play a crucial role in shaping the sustainability of food systems. At the EU level, the Farm to Fork Strategy acknowledges the power of PFP in building a fair, healthy and environmentally-friendly food system. 

Chiara Falvo’s policy brief, “Bringing Sustainability to the Collective Table through Public Food Procurement”, highlights key strategies to enhance sustainability in public food procurement procedures. The recommendations are drawn from comprehensive research on the relevant EU legal framework and experiences at national and local levels.

Primarily addressed to policymakers at EU and national levels, Chiara’s policy brief is also relevant to practitioners in the public food sector. It aims to provide a roadmap for leveraging public food procurement to drive systemic change in food systems.

2. Insights from Chiara’s policy brief 

Despite the guidance of specific EU GPP criteria and legal possibilities under Directive 2014/24/EU, the uptake of Sustainable Public Food Procurement (SPFP) in the European Union is hindered by legal uncertainties, practical obstacles and budgetary constraints. This results in substantial public expenditure on cheap food options, neglecting nutritional quality, environmental sustainability and social equity, and perpetrating unsustainable food models. 

In this policy brief, Chiara addresses these issues and advances three main recommendations: 

1. Moving beyond voluntary Green Public Procurement (GPP) criteria by adopting minimum mandatory sustainability standards for public food procurement across Europe;

2. Strengthening the planning and execution phases of food procurement procedures and empowering practitioners with the necessary skills and tools;

3. Fostering vertical and horizontal cooperation to build inclusive and decentralized food governance.