CropCat: Upscaling minor crops with institutional catering

The transformation of the food system requires both the diversification of farming systems towards more agroecological approaches and the further development of downstream value chains, business models, and consumption patterns. Institutional catering is recognised as a key lever for driving this transformation. The CropCat project therefore aims to advance both the cultivation of new and underutilised crops and approaches to increasing their use in institutional catering. To achieve this, the project draws on six Living Labs across six European countries. Each Living Lab focuses on a small number of relevant crop species (in Germany, for example, chickpeas and lentils) and brings together relevant stakeholders from across the value chain in a co-creation process to further develop cultivation systems and value chains.

The Living Labs represent a range of soil and climatic conditions across the EU and are embedded in regional contexts where both motivated producers seeking to diversify their farming systems and institutional catering providers aiming to offer more sustainable food options are actively engaged.

The Living Labs also contribute to policy development by generating input for sustainable public procurement and fostering collaboration across the value chain.

You can find the project website here →