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Shifting toward Healthy and sustAainable diets for safer, gREener and inclusive cities
SHADES – Shifting toward Healthy and sustAainable diets for safer, gREener and inclusive cities is a transformative project designed to accelerate the transition toward sustainable, healthy, and culturally grounded food systems in the Mediterranean region.
SHADES places citizens, particularly children, families, and educators, at the heart of this shift by promoting the Mediterranean Diet (MD) as a driver of health, environmental sustainability, and cultural identity. SHADES will be implemented in five diverse Mediterranean cities, Milan (Italy), Cornellà de Llobregat (Spain), Amman (Jordan), Muratpaşa (Türkiye), and Chefchaouen (Morocco), each reflecting varied socio-institutional contexts and food policy landscapes. These urban pilots will serve as living labs to co-create, test, and scale solutions that integrate school food procurement reform, educational innovation, digital empowerment, and inclusive multi-stakeholder governance.
The project uses public food procurement, especially in schools, as a strategic entry point to increase access to sustainable diets and strengthen local food systems. SHADES will design MD-aligned school meals, reduce food waste, and support short, seasonal, and organic supply chains that benefit local producers, including women and youth. These actions will be embedded in participatory governance models and tailored to local realities to ensure both impact and replicability across Mediterranean cities.
Through a multi-actor and transdisciplinary approach, SHADES combines top-down policy support with bottom-up behavioural interventions. A robust set of digital tools, including a gamified app for students, interactive platforms for educators and families, and AI-based personalized dietary feedback, will be developed to increase food literacy, support sustainable food choices, and collect data to inform decision-making and monitor progress. These tools aim to empower thousands of users and reinforce sustainable behaviour in both school and home environments.
Validated tools such as KIDMED and MEDAS will be used to assess dietary changes among children and families. The project will also co-develop a youth sustainability score, integrating health, environmental, and social indicators to guide conscious consumption and institutional procurement. Educational materials and training for teachers, canteen staff, and families will ensure a consistent, evidence-based promotion of the MD across formal and informal learning spaces.
Beyond schools, SHADES will contribute to resilient territorial food systems by strengthening linkages between urban demand and rural supply, supporting agrobiodiversity, and enhancing the role of local farmers in public procurement. Policy recommendations, co-designed with municipalities and regional institutions, will provide replicable models for healthy, sustainable, and inclusive food environments in both EU and MENA contexts.
SHADES aligns closely with the PRIMA Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda, particularly Operational Objectives
It also contributes to broader policy frameworks including the EU Farm to Fork Strategy and the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact by embedding the MD within urban food policy innovation.
By fostering dietary change through education, digital engagement, and institutional transformation, SHADES delivers a high-impact, scalable model for empowering consumers and reinforcing the resilience, sustainability, and cultural integrity of Mediterranean food systems.
SHADES Facts & Figures
Project name: Shifting toward Healthy and sustAainable diets for safer, gREener and inclusive cities
Project Number: 2534
Call: PRIMA call Section 1 2025
Topic: Topic 1.3.1 (IA) Transforming Mediterranean Food Systems: Empowering Consumers for Sustainable Diets
Duration: 1/5/2026 – 30/4/2029
EC Contribution: € 2.870.187,5