FEAST - Report on Living Labs kick-off

To further the development of food democracy on multiple levels across Europe while also improving food sovereignty, FEAST (Food systems that support transitions to hEalthy And Sustainable dieTs) was launched in July 2022. The 5-year project is run by a consortium consisting of 35 partners across 15 European countries and is funded under the program HORIZON-CL6-2021-FARM2FORK-01-15. FEAST aims to explore new forms of governance through processes of social-ecological transformation in various institutional settings. In doing so, FEAST is laying emphasis on vulnerable groups and all those that remain unheard or do not have sufficient leverage to shape food systems. 

One crucial element of FEAST are participatory forms of co-creating solutions that are called Living Labs (LL). In a LL, actors affected by a problem, and those that are needed to help design or implement a solution, come together to jointly develop possible solutions. In FEAST, our LL and co-designed solutions will focus on supporting vulnerable people with food security related issues taking into account six dimensions of food security. These solutions will be implemented within FEAST from 2024-2026 and their impacts will be measured. In this way, promising solutions can be replicated further by replicator cities within FEAST and other actors beyond the project. FEAST LLs include municipalities directly representing approximately 3.35 million individuals across different European contexts and varied food system actors through our small city and rural partners as well as an additional 14 million individuals through our associated large city LLs. Each LL is dedicated to a unique vision.