Why public procurement can be a game-changer for urban food systems

When we think of food systems, we often picture fields, markets, and restaurants. Not city halls. Yet local governments hold a powerful tool in shaping how and what people eat: public procurement. From school lunches and hospital meals to community kitchens and care home menus, the food that cities purchase feeds thousands daily. It also sets the tone for broader food system change; not only through what is served, but how it is produced, sourced, and valued. Across the FoodCLIC Living Labs, city-regions are rethinking procurement as a strategic tool to advance food goals that go beyond nutrition. Whether aiming to reduce emissions, promote fair wages, support local farmers, or improve public health, food procurement offers a concrete entry point to deliver systemic change.

Aarhus: Training food professionals and shifting procurement culture

In Aarhus, Denmark, the municipality is focusing on capacity-building and local procurement as two sides of the same coin. The city is rolling out a training program for public kitchen staff to increase the use of local, seasonal ingredients and reduce food waste. This initiative is part of a larger effort to embed sustainable practices across institutional food environments such as schools, canteens, and hospitals. By supporting food professionals to adapt recipes and procurement practices, Aarhus aims to strengthen the local food economy and improve the nutritional quality of public meals. For Aarhus, investing in staff training complements procurement reforms, making it easier to meet food system goals through everyday purchasing decisions.

Amsterdam: Using contracts to shape the food environment

In the Netherlands, the FoodCLIC city-region of Amsterdam uses its purchasing power to broadly influence food environments by setting health and sustainability requirements in canteens, events, and vending machines in city-owned buildings. This includes limits on sugary drinks, a minimum percentage of plant-based options, and sourcing requirements that prioritize local and sustainable producers. Through the FoodCLIC Living Lab, the city is also engaging public institutions and community partners to expand this model to schools, universities, and hospitals. By aligning procurement guidelines across institutions, the city hopes to create a consistent food culture that reinforces healthy, fair, and climate-friendly diets.

Lucca: Building local supply chains for school meals

In Italy’s Lucca city-region, public procurement is being used to support the shift to a new school canteen model that prioritizes locally sourced and seasonal food. The city is working with small and medium-sized producers, including bakers and food processors, to re-localize key food supply chains for school meals. This effort is part of a broader push to ensure that public food services reflect local food culture while promoting sustainability and equity. To make this shift possible, Lucca’s Living Lab is conducting farm visits, piloting supply chain alternatives, and supporting collaboration between producers and municipal actors. The municipality is also testing an innovative procurement model that allows small producers to join forces through temporary business associations, enabling them to bid for school meal contracts more effectively.

A growing appetite for transformation

The experiences of cities - both within FoodCLIC and beyond - show that food procurement can be more than just about logistics or cost-efficiency. It’s already a growing arena for policy innovation, one where values like equity, sustainability, and health can be embedded into everyday decisions. Still, challenges remain. Many city-regions face regulatory constraints, lack of staff capacity, or fragmented supply chains that limit their ability to act. But as more cities begin to share strategies, pool resources, and learn from one another, the potential for scaling change grows stronger. For city leaders working on food, procurement can become a powerful driver for more just and resilient urban food systems.

This blog was written by Matteo Bizzotto, Senior Officer of Global Communications at ICLEI World Secretariat, based on the FoodCLIC publication Synthesis of plans of the eight living labs with portfolios of real-life interventions

Publishing date: 10 December 2025