Healthier Food Community Kick-Off

February 12

The Healthier Food Community Kick-Off, which took place on February 1, 2024, marked an important step towards creating a healthier food environment. The community meeting was a breeding ground for new connections, ideas and concrete next steps to increase the amount of healthier food products at every point of sale. Both through bringing parties together in the Healthier Food Community and by facilitating the development of initiatives, Foodvalley strengthens the food ecosystem and facilitates the transition towards a healthier future.  

Collective Roadblocks 

For common understanding, the event started off with a deepdive into the six identified collective roadblocks: 

• Creatures of habit 
• Research & development 
• Business skills 
• Rules & regulations 
• Commercial constraints 
• Fixed (technological) mindset 

For more information on the roadblocks and their identification read our publication

Sense of urgency and excitement lead to the selection of topics to work on with the group: salt reduction, healthier canteen offer, an increase in vegetables and fruits in processed foods, business skills, and true pricing on health. In breakout sessions, participants worked on defining the biggest challenges, objectives, parties to be involved and next steps for each topic in setting up initiatives. Thereafter, participants indicated which topics they would like to be involved in. 

Next steps

After the Kick-Off, Foodvalley organises follow-up conversations and work sessions on the respective topics, progressing towards the launch of concrete initiatives. Organisations interested in being involved or wanting to explore how Foodvalley can enhance their initiatives are encouraged to reach out to the Community Manager Sabine Poelmann (sabine.poelmann@foodvalley.nl).