Territorial action for solidarity and sustainable food (Atlass)

January 2019

Fondation Daniel et Nina Carasso (FDNC)

Towards a Europe of territorial food systems?

This study is extracted from the analysis of twenty-two French and Spanish projects related to new food models, all highlighting different challenges.

In Spain, governance is being built, while French food systems are looking for solutions to change scale. But in both countries, accessibility remains the weak link. The Atlass project aims at a sustainable development of the territories and the well-being of their inhabitants. The core of its action is the stimulation of local, solidarity-based and sustainable food systems. Tools are proposed to the actors of new local food initiatives while a method is disseminated to build territorial strategies. The benefits of supporting initiatives in Brittany serve as lessons learned to improve the relevance of future actions.

Atlass

The territorial action for solidarity and sustainable food (Atlass) wants to federate, around a common roadmap, all the actors of the food chain on a territory: farmers, consumers, craftsmen, processing units, traders, educational institutions, public authorities. It is advancing in three stages: drawing up an assessment of the actions undertaken on the territory, supporting local projects, and developing and disseminating shared methods. All these elements are used to define local food strategies.

Brittany was used as a pilot area to draw up an assessment of a regional food policy. The Atlass project brings together the regional federation of the Civam de Bretagne (Centres d’initiatives pour valoriser l’agriculture et le milieu rural) and the Terralim and

Resolis, in partnership with the Association of French Regions and the Brittany Region. This consortium combines complementary skills in the fields of support for innovative projects, territorial administration, research and teaching, and the dissemination of innovation. It relies on a strong experience and involvement in European dynamics.

Mobilising around a food establishment project

School food projects address local supply, the quality of catering, the link between the school and the canteen, and communication with families. To encourage the introduction of local and organic products in the six school canteens in the Pays de Brocéliande, Monfort Communauté is launching the Meal project: « Re-enchanting our plates for the pleasure of the children, the maintenance of quality agriculture and the health of all ». While a diagnosis of the components of a meal (content of the plate, personnel, equipment, taking into account the environment, educational actions) is carried out, two half-days of training are offered to cooks, elected representatives, teachers, producers and families. Workshops are then organised for each commune, mobilising first a small group (elected representatives, cooks, administrative staff), then a larger group (teachers, farmers, parents and children).

Refining a well-anchored territorial strategy

The Pays de Brocéliande in Brittany is a pioneering territory in terms of food issues: awareness-raising actions since 2007, diagnosis of local supply and demand in 2011. In 2012, after winning a regional call for projects, the Pays de Brocéliande is recruiting a project manager to support the structuring of the sector: supply, distribution, demand. A number of awareness-raising initiatives are being carried out over a four-year period with the catering industry, young people, shopkeepers and cooks. In 2016, the Pays de Brocéliande will benefit from the support of the Atlass project to refine its territorial strategy, from logistics to activities centred on school catering ("Meals" project).

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