Accelerating Sustainability in the Agri-Food Sector through Community Food Education Hubs
What if sustainability in the agri-food sector was not just a policy ambition, but a practical reality for farmers, food producers, workers, and small businesses? What if micro and small enterprises had access to the right tools, guidance, and support to make the green transition part of their everyday work? These are the questions at the heart of EU FOODPACT, a European project that aims to support the agri-food sector in becoming more sustainable, resilient, and future-ready.
EU FOODPACT responds to an urgent European need. Across the agri-food sector, especially among micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises, the green and digital transition is moving forward unevenly. Many businesses are under growing pressure to adopt sustainable practices, improve their operations, and respond to new policy expectations, yet they often lack the training opportunities, mentoring structures, and practical pathways needed to do so. EU FOODPACT has been created to help bridge this gap by supporting sustainability not only as a requirement, but as a real opportunity for growth and innovation.
At the centre of the project is the idea of Community Food Education Hubs. These hubs will act as spaces where managers, employees, adult learners, and future professionals can come together to explore sustainability in a practical and collaborative way. Rather than relying only on traditional training formats, EU FOODPACT promotes dialogue-based learning, peer exchange, mentoring, and hands-on action planning. Through these hubs, participants will engage with sustainability diagnostics, certification pathways, and innovative business approaches that respond directly to the realities of the agri-food sector.
A key strength of the project is that it addresses different target groups across the food system. C-level managers will be supported through training in systems thinking, regenerative leadership, and sustainability-oriented business strategies. Employees will benefit from mentorship-based upskilling opportunities that help them develop intrapreneurial and sustainability-related competences. At the same time, adult learners and future professionals will have access to more flexible and relevant learning pathways that are better connected to labour market needs.
One of the most innovative aspects of EU FOODPACT is its digital Diagnosis Model and Onboarding Platform, also referred to as the Agri-Skills Compass. This tool will help users assess their readiness for sustainability transformation, identify skills gaps, and receive guidance towards suitable learning modules and mentoring opportunities. In this way, the project combines personalised support with practical digital tools, making sustainability learning more accessible and more actionable for agri-food enterprises and their workforce.
Another important dimension of the project is its focus on certification readiness and micro-credentials. EU FOODPACT aims to make complex sustainability and certification processes easier to understand and more achievable for smaller enterprises. By linking learning pathways with recognised competence frameworks and practical roadmaps, the project helps participants move from awareness to implementation. Sustainability is therefore approached not only as an ideal, but as something concrete that can be developed, measured, and embedded in day-to-day business practice.
EU FOODPACT also stands out for its strong European dimension. The project brings together partners from different parts of Europe, creating opportunities for exchange between diverse realities, experiences, and levels of sustainability readiness. This transnational cooperation allows partners and stakeholders to learn from one another, share good practices, and adapt successful approaches across different contexts. In doing so, EU FOODPACT contributes to a more connected and collaborative European agri-food ecosystem.
Ultimately, EU FOODPACT is about more than sustainability training alone. It is about empowering the agri-food sector with the knowledge, confidence, and collaborative mindset needed for long-term change. By supporting MSMEs, workers, educators, and other stakeholders through guidance, mentoring, digital tools, and community-based learning, the project aims to create practical pathways towards a greener, smarter, and more inclusive food future in Europe.