Idea and goals
Located on the Côte d'Azur, the City of Mouans-Sartoux wanted to resist the overdevelopment of its surroundings by becoming a sustainable city with an organic and local food system. The city has developed a territorial food project, building their food sovereignty and offering their inhabitants a food system that respects health and the environment.
Implementation
The municipal school canteens in Mouans-Sartoux distribute completely organic meals with a majority of local products. This shift was done without additional costs thanks to a reduction by 80 percent of food waste. To guarantee the success of the project, the municipality had to work on the supply of the city, helping organic farmers to settle and promote the direct supply from local farmers. To steer the city’s local food project the city decided to create the Center for Sustainable Food Education. With the support of the elected representatives the municipality team founded the first municipal farm in France. Changing food habits was further promoted through educational activities for children, such as cooking classes or outdoor activities in gardens where children can improve their organic gardening skills. Moreover, the city is supporting each year about 20 families to eat more local and organic products without increasing their budget. This was achieved by various workshops such as cooking and nutrition. Since 2018, the city of Mouans-Sartoux has been leading the URBACT BioCanteens transfer network, helping other cities to adapt its good practice to their local contexts. The city is also the founder of the European Club of Organic Territories.
Vision
The City of Mouans-Sartoux is recognised as a good example at national and international level. In 2018 it was awarded the URBACT Good Practice label. The city program to support families changed their eating habits: They eat 26 percent more organic food and spend less money on food than before. Through a regular evaluation of these actions by the city, it has been proven that the citizens of Mouans-Sartoux are very satisfied with the school catering. Besides, the city established many external partnerships. With the University of Côte d’Azur, it created a university degree to train sustainable food project managers.