Belgium

From 2014 onwards, we started building our expertise in making institutional kitchens from companies and schools more sustainable. This laid the foundations for the GoodFood@School approach, that we are currently also adopting in Indonesia, Vietnam etc. As of 2017, Belgium was one of the first countries where we started up our Good Food for Cities programme. Currently, we are running our Good Food for Cities programme in the cities of Antwerp, Ghent and Leuven; and we play our part in pushing for a more sustainable cocoa and coffee sector in Belgium. We also organise private fundraising campaigns in Belgium.

Good Food for Cities programme highlights for 2023

Rikolto's GoodFood@School team co-developed the Whole School Food Approach (WSFA), resulting in a "How to apply the WSFA?" Manual tested in over 120 European schools and a yearly state of play with best practices as part of the EU-funded SchoolFood4Change project. This model has been extensively tested in our pilot cities Ghent, Leuven en Antwerp. In Leuven, Rikolto partnered with 3 schools and a new local caterer to pilot a hot school meal model based on the WSFA principles. In order to promote cooperation between city authorities, civil society and schools, Rikolto also facilitated regular School Food Councils, spaces for dialogue on how to advance the discussion on healthy and sustainable food at school. The Superlist Environment project implemented by Rikolto examined the efforts of supermarkets in Belgium and Europe to make the food system more sustainable. We shared this research with citizens, policymakers, civil society and the food sector to encourage supermarkets to live up to their social responsibility.

Sustainable Cocoa and Coffee programme highlights for 2023

In 2023, Rikolto made significant progress towards a more sustainable Belgian cocoa and coffee sector. We actively lobbied for changes in EU legislation, in particular the forthcoming Due Diligence Regulation, to ensure responsible sourcing throughout the supply chain. We also promoted the concept of a living income for farmers within the framework of a sustainable food system. By working with The Voice Network, we raised this critical issue on the national agenda. Rikolto also fostered collaboration between different stakeholders. We organised supply chain meetings in 2023, facilitating communication and joint efforts between stakeholders. These efforts yielded results, with Belgian retailer Colruyt launching four new sustainable products this year. In addition, Rikolto promoted knowledge sharing by disseminating cocoa expertise from the Ivory Coast through Impact Institute reports.