Community-led action for healthy and sustainable food in the Barcelona city-region

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is not easy. Among the many factors that influence it, social, technological, economic, environmental and political, access to healthy and sustainable food represents a highly complex challenge. Addressing this challenge requires innovative, effective and sustainable models that take into account multiple actors and sectors, and operate at local, regional, national and international levels. These models should promote systemic initiatives and integrated policies, while remaining flexible enough to adapt as contexts evolve over time. Within the framework of FoodCLIC, the Alison Community, coordinated by the IrsiCaixa Living Lab for Health and the Barcelona Metropolitan Area (AMB), is experimenting with innovative solutions to this complexity through community engagement pilots. These pilots aim to transform local food environments and guarantee access to healthier, more sustainable, affordable and ethically produced food.

During 2025, two metropolitan neighbourhoods, Sant Cosme in El Prat de Llobregat and Fondo in Santa Coloma de Gramenet, have become living laboratories for experimentation based on community participation. Open and free initiatives have been established across the entire food chain, from production and consumption to resource recovery. Designed through participatory research processes with a systemic approach between 2023 and 2024, these initiatives began implementation in 2025 in collaboration with a network of more than 20 local and regional entities.

Initiatives in Sant Cosme

• Monthly food and nutrition workshops, supported by ABD and the Benviure Communality;
• A community garden, “The Green Corner of the Neighbourhood”, located at the El Prat School Institute. Open to the public and managed according to agroecological principles, the garden is supported by the Contorno Urbano Foundation;
• Support for the Neighbourhood Kitchen, powered by Gats, which provides healthy and affordable meals at a reduced price;
• The creation of a consumer group in collaboration with ABD and the El Prat Store, offering baskets of fresh, locally sourced products at affordable prices.

Initiatives in Fondo

• Community learning and cooking workshops to share knowledge, plan and prepare healthy meals from different cultures, supported by community leaders, Sobres Mestres and CIBA;
• Community agroecology activities in local agricultural spaces, supported by Conreu Sereny;
• Consumer groups providing access to fresh, healthy, local and affordable food products;
• Strategies to redistribute food surpluses, implemented with the support of Unió Segones Oportunitats and Nutrició Sense Fronteres;
• Support for food entrepreneurship, developed with Fablab Barcelona within the framework of the European FOSTER project.

­­In parallel, a participatory monitoring and evaluation process is underway with the support of IRTA. Participatory sessions will also be organised to rethink urban food policies and explore innovative business models that enhance the sustainability and equity of the initiatives. This policy innovation process is being carried out in collaboration with the  European projects FOSTER and CLEVERFOOD.

Publishing date: 22 December 2025