Challenges

Connect local food to the hood Sustainability

City of Amsterdam

Background

Amsterdam needs a robust, sustainable and regionally oriented system for providing and transporting food. This includes trying to encourage higher consumption rates of regionally produced and plant-based food. Current initiatives aim to better coordinate regional food production with regional demand, cooperating with sustainable businesses from the food supply chain. Measures include stimulating circular agriculture.

The ambition is to kickstart a system change where Amsterdam (and the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area) strive for a robust, sustainable and regional food system in line with the Amsterdam Food Strategy (Amsterdamse Voedselstrategie) and the Amsterdam Circular 2020-2025 Strategy.

A system based on nutritious, sustainable and affordable products is crucial for a healthy and sustainable city. Most of our food nowadays is imported from all over the world and its production often has a negative impact on the ecosystems involved. At the same time, the direct surroundings of Amsterdam produce plenty of agricultural produce. Most of this (approximately 95%) is exported, although the city has plenty of consumers that want to eat locally produced food. However, food logistics are mainly focused on global exports. One reason for this is that relatively seen, transportation of produce in large volumes over long distances is more cost effective than the transport of lower volumes of produce over shorter distances. This especially affects sustainably produced food, because organic farmers in general produce on a smaller scale and with a larger variety of produce, leading to lower volumes per product. This alone leads to higher prices for regional and/or sustainable products. One of the main challenges we face is to create a regional logistics system that is sustainable and cost effective, so that sustainable, locally produced food can become more affordable, leading to an increase in its consumption.

The assignment for startups

 

Find an innovative solution to make regional food logistics more sustainable, efficient and cost-effective, so that regional, sustainable produce becomes more accessible for the local market.

Criteria:

  • The solution must decrease costs in the supply chain;
  • The solution should take into account bundling supplies of various sustainable/organic producers;
  • The solution should take load efficiencies into account;
  • The solution should include a sustainable transport solution within the city;
  • The solution should take into account Amsterdam’s maximum permitted loads with respect to bridges and canal walls;
  • The solution should explore a large variety of logistical options (including direct delivery from local farmers to consumers, pick-up stations etc);
  • The solution should consider data collection, for example connecting data about available stock of various farmers (both organic and regular), with data about routes and delivery times. For inspiration, visit laralue.de and www.lueneburg2030.de/project/dasradbringts.

 

Issued by:

Planning and Sustainability; Mobility and Public Space