Close Food
In November 2016, via the Fondation Gouverneur René Close, the Province of Namur launched a call for research projects in the field of circular economy for the universities of the Pôle Académique Namurois. They were asked to submit thesis projects on the development of the circular economy, around two subjects of application: the functioning of the future Provincial Administrative House and sustainable food for school canteens.
In November 2016, via the Fondation Gouverneur René Close, the Province of Namur launched a call for research projects in the field of circular economy for the universities of the Pôle Académique Namurois. They were asked to submit thesis projects on the development of the circular economy, around two subjects of application: the functioning of the future Provincial Administrative House and sustainable food for school canteens.
The social object of the Fondation Gouverneur René Close is to provide material and moral encouragement to the social, human, economic and political sciences. More specifically, the Close Foundation promotes scientific research, studies or achievements in the fields of environmental protection and improving the quality of life.
Two projects were selected, including one proposed by Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech - University of Liège.
Granted to Kevin Maréchal and Thomas Dogot, professors at the Laboratoire d'Économie et Développement Rural, this funding will be used to carry out a project aimed at studying the issue of supplying school canteens in the Province of Namur, through short food supply chains. The three-year "Close Food" project will be implemented by doctoral student Eléonore Heymans.
The general objective of this research is twofold. The first consists in carrying out an in-depth reflection on the match between supply and demand and the means of strengthening it. To do this, it will be necessary to take into account the existing constraints at the level of actors in short food supply chains (e.g. schools are closed during the summer holidays) and will also require a detailed understanding of the context of school canteens.
The second objective is to identify mechanisms of resistance to change. In this context, behavioural lock-ins among canteen users will be studied. Indeed, it seems illusory to think about the promotion of a sustainable food sector in Namur without, at the same time, trying to decipher the receptivity of demand to this new offer. In the case of school canteens, for example, students' reluctance to eat forgotten vegetables (taste, shape, texture, etc.) can be a major obstacle. Taking behaviours into account is also essential for reducing food waste, which is a crucial aspect of the circular economy applied to the food sector.
All these elements will make it possible to make an initial reflection on the potentially effective levers to favour short food supply chains on a territorial scale (meal status, political impetus, demonstration effect, innovative governance mechanisms, participatory awareness-raising processes, etc.) in relation to the characteristics of the targeted schools.
The research project developed around school canteens will also raise the question of the circularity of food. Indeed, although the food sector does not necessarily come first to mind when we speak of a circular economy, thinking circular is nevertheless an important lever to structure initiatives in short food supply chains because of the economic weight that communities represent as buyers of food products.
The approach proposed to achieve these objectives is both original and transdisciplinary. In fact, it will call upon concepts relating to sociology, agronomy and the rural economics. Pursuing a multi-stakeholder perspective, the study will address both private and public actors, notably through the use of an innovative collaboration model: co-creation.
Finally, within the framework of this project, the Gembloutoise work team has entered into several partnerships, including one with the agronomy section of HEPN - Ciney. This partnership will reside in the realization, by students of HEPN-Ciney, of TFE on well-defined themes but directly connected to the research project in particular in the field of sustainable food production within the territory of the province of Namur. Another partnership is also envisaged with the Smart Gastronomy Lab (SGL).
