Last month at Global Forum of the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact, Cultivate unveiled one of its key Food Sharing Compass tools: the Menu of Good Governance. The tool serves as a repository of good governance practices in food sharing from across Europe.
Accessible now in its pilot version at
menuofgoodgovernance.eu, the tool offers decision support for policymakers, researchers, and practitioners working on food sharing initiatives across Europe and beyond. Developed by researchers from the
University of Barcelona in collaboration with CULTIVATE consortium partners, the tool is designed to inspire and inform. It brings together successful
policy examples and
case studies from across Europe, offering insights, strategies, and tested solutions to help cities and communities design effective rules, projects, and programs that foster food sharing. The tool also highlights solutions to common challenges faced by food-sharing initiatives and showcases how they can be addressed in diverse contexts.
“There are no one-size-fits-all solutions,” explains Ana Moragues Faus, Principal Investigator of the University of Barcelona team. “Each example needs to be understood within its specific geographical and historical context — yet together, they offer a rich source of learning and inspiration.”
Currently, the Menu of Good Governance features
217 practical solutions, organised around key themes such as regulations, structural factors, resources, and participation. Over the coming months, the tool will undergo testing and refinement in Dublin and Brighton & Hove, where local stakeholders will assess its usability and impact. Insights from these pilot cities — along with new examples of food sharing good governance practices — will further enrich the database. The final version of the Menu is expected in December 2026.
At its core, food sharing involves collective actions around food, food-related items, spaces, skills, and knowledge. It can happen among friends, families, neighbours, communities, or even strangers — spanning every part of the food system, from growing and cooking to eating and redistributing surplus food. Within the CULTIVATE project, the focus lies on organised food sharing initiatives that reach beyond personal networks — initiatives explicitly created to share food in more inclusive, structured ways.
The Menu of Good Governance forms part of the
Food Sharing Compass, a suite of tools developed under the CULTIVATE project, an EU-funded initiative aimed at increasing understanding and awareness of food sharing practices. Through CULTIVATE, researchers and partners are exploring what drives or hinders food sharing, and how stakeholders can navigate, strengthen, and scale these initiatives to foster more sustainable, resilient, and healthy urban and peri-urban food systems.
So, use this tool, give us feedback and, most of all, share it!
Photo Credit: Leonardo Improta
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