FOOD Programme

Project rational

The EU Platform for Action on Diet, Physical Activity and Health provided the policy framework for the project with DG SANCO of the European Commission securing the funding through their Executive Agency for Health and Consumers (EAHC).

Objectives

The two main objectives of the project are:

The specific objectives are:

Methodology

To meet the objectives, the FOOD project has created essential channels of communication between the companies and the restaurants using its unique network of contacts through the Ticket Restaurant® solution, following five complementary sets of actions:

1. An inventory of existing health promotion programmes in the workplace and in restaurants was followed by two questionnaires. The first was a quantitative survey, addressing employees (52,000) and restaurants (5,000) to better understand the project’s needs. The second, a qualitative study, was done by conducting 60 interviews in restaurants in 12 countries.
2. Following a comparative study of the surveys’ results, recommendations were made by the partners.
3. Simple tools were developed, adapted and piloted for restaurants and companies.
4. Pilots were evaluated.
5. Following the evaluation, tools were adapted and best practices disseminated.

Partners of the project

Associated partners:

Collaborating partners:

Partners of the programme

The partners:

The programme

The partners have decided to continue developing and disseminating the project after the end of the funding period and the support from the European Commission. The partners are motivated to take advantage of the actions, experience and results of the project and create an adaptable programme.

A new consortium agreement linking 23 partners in 8 countries was signed in Brussels on December 14, 2011. The Consortium agreement was renewed for another 3 years with 23 partners in 9 countries on November 27, 2015 .

The programme is meant to be developed with new partners and in new countries.

The FOOD Road Show

In October 2009, a double-decker bus customised with the FOOD colours drove through the main cities of the six participating countries, officially launching the communication campaign to the target audiences. The tour enabled the partners, with the collaboration of nutritionists, dietitians and chefs, to explain the FOOD project and to show the first communication tools created. The journey started in Paris and then continued on to Brussels, Stockholm, Prague, and Milan ending in Madrid.

The conference at the European Parliament

Following the wish of the partners to continue the FOOD project by adapting it into a programme, a conference had been organised to mark the transition. The conference was held on 31 May 2011, at the European Parliament, during the Hungarian Presidency of the European Union.

The FOOD restaurants network

A network of dedicated restaurants that adhere to the national FOOD recommendations was created in the participating countries, thought as the most effective way to reconnect the offer and the demand sides of balanced nutrition. The network is composed of almost 3000 restaurants.

The Alimentação Inteligente Book

One of the communication tools produced in the framework of the FOOD programme by the Portuguese partners, the Alimentação Inteligente - Coma melhor, poupe mais book [translation: Smart Food - Eat better, save more], won the Portuguese Food and Nutrition Awards 2013 in the Mobilization Initiative category.

The FOOD Awards

The Spanish partners of the FOOD programme organised the Premios FOOD 2014 [translation: FOOD Awards 2014], with the objective of rewarding the healthiest restaurant already part of the FOOD network in Spain. The final step took place in Madrid on 6 May 2014, with the reputed Spanish Chef Pedro Larumbe cooking the three finalists' menus. The jury was composed of four gastronomy bloggers and a FOOD partner's representative, who attributed the first prize to Sportdiet restaurant.