Changing the Menu, Changing the System: The Power of Public Food Procurement
Forum Compraverde Buygreen WeGil, Largo Ascianghi, 5 00153 - Rome Italy
Public food procurement is one of the most powerful levers to reshape how we eat, produce, and care for people and the planet. At Forum Compraverde Buygreen in Rome, two complementary sessions will explore how collective catering and school meals can drive real systemic change, offering both strategic vision and practical tools.
The afternoon opens with the Buy Better Food workshop Canteens that Matter: Measuring the Environmental Impact of Collective Catering (13:30–15:00).
This interactive session focuses on the how. Public catering in schools, hospitals, and other services has a direct impact on health, the environment, and local economies. But to improve it, we need to measure it.
Through hands-on exchange with cities and experts, the session will explore how Food Emission Calculators (FECs) and other assessment tools can help identify emission hotspots, guide procurement decisions, and track progress over time. Participants will discuss indicators, methodologies, and management approaches that turn measurement into a strategic lever for more sustainable, healthy, and responsible food systems.
The day continues with the SchoolFood4Change flagship session, It's Time for a New Menu! How Healthy School Meals Can Transform Food Systems (15:00–18:15, also available online).
This session focuses on the why and what’s next. After four years of implementation across Europe, it showcases how school food can become a catalyst for systemic transformation.
The session unfolds in three parts:
- The Secret Ingredient – Experts and city partners present the SF4C Triple Approach, sharing concrete results on whole-school food strategies, planetary health diets, and sustainable procurement.
- Leading the Change – Policymakers from frontrunner cities discuss the real-world challenges and breakthroughs behind reforming school food systems.
- A Global Blueprint – With contributions from European-level decision-makers, the discussion expands to scaling impact, linking local action to global sustainability and equity goals.
Together, these sessions offer a unique opportunity to connect measurement and implementation, showing not only why food system transformation matters, but how to make it happen in practice.
Whether you are a policymaker, practitioner, or researcher, you’ll gain actionable insights and connect with those already leading the change across Europe.
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