FOODPRINT "FOOP" Project
“Empowering Youth for Sustainable Food Consumption in Europe”
Introduction
In the European Union, unsustainable consumption patterns, particularly among the youth, have reached a critical point. Current trends in food consumption and waste pose significant threats to both environmental and societal health. Recognizing the urgency of transforming these habits, our project, “FOODPrint,” aims to empower youth to lead the way toward a sustainable future. The name “FOODPrint” plays on the words “footprint” and “food,” highlighting the project’s focus on reducing the environmental impact of food consumption.
Project Objectives
- Empower Youth for Sustainable Practices
- Elevate young people’s awareness and competencies in sustainable consumption.
- Align with the EU Youth Strategy by engaging under-represented youth demographics in active citizenship and sustainable practices.
- Promote Transnational Cooperation
- Develop structured, cross-border partnerships among youth organizations across Europe.
- Reflect the EU’s values of solidarity, democratic participation, and inclusive engagement.
Consortium Partners
The FOODPrint project brings together a diverse consortium of partners from:
- West Europe: The Netherlands, Germany
- South & East Europe: Romania, Slovakia, North Macedonia
- South Europe: Greece
All consortium partners have collaborated on successful projects previously, ensuring a strong foundation for effective project management and execution.
The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the complex relationship between food consumption, waste, and environmental impacts among European youth, revealing distinct patterns between Western and Eastern Europe. In Western Europe, young people are increasingly health-conscious but struggle with significant food waste and high fast food consumption, while in Eastern Europe, economic constraints lead to more affordable but less nutritious food choices. Food waste is a critical issue across Europe, with approximately 88 million tonnes wasted annually, costing about €143 billion and significantly contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. Young people play a major role in consumerism and food waste, often using food and fashion for self-expression, which leads to unsustainable consumption patterns. These behaviors, coupled with growing consumption trends in Eastern Europe, pose challenges to Europe’s sustainability goals. The “FOODPrint” project, cleverly named to emphasize the environmental impact of food choices, aims to address these issues by promoting sustainable and conscious food consumption among youth, aligning with the EU’s goals of reducing waste, supporting circular economies, and conserving biodiversity
