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The GOODFOOD project, as an educational and research project supporting the sustainable development of food systems, is aimed at establishing cooperation between EU universities and rural territories and their communities related to food production through a number of educational activities. This work resulted in the development, exploration and implementation of experiential learning activities and outcomes enabling the academic community to develop and exchange knowledge about territorially embedded food systems (EFS) and gain insight into possible pathways of their implementation. Through these multidisciplinary activities, the academic community, with the involvement of the explored EFS actors, developed teaching materials to contribute to supporting the sustainable development of rural food systems and their communities, based on experience and peer-to-peer learning. Local knowledge, built on the traditions and experiences of the local territory, supported by the input of qualified university graduates, has the potential to contribute to building sustainable, territorially embedded food systems, addressing challenges related to, i.e., resource constraints, diverse food quality and safety aspects, the environmental impacts of food production, biodiversity, food sovereignty, adapting to climate change, etc. To achieve the project’s goals, educational content and activities tailored to students’ preferences and major educational gaps were created in the form of e-learning courses and intensive study programs (summer schools). Students from six countries (PL, IT, FR, DE, BG, and RO) participated in two experiential-learning-focused summer schools in the Münsterland and Piedmont regions (2022, 2023). The project research team analyzed the students’ understanding of the concept of EFS and identified their preferred methods of learning about EFS. Educational materials for students, descriptions of selected EFS case studies and a guide on innovative teaching about territorially embedded food systems addressed to academics working in this subject area were developed. The created, publicly available educational materials and approaches may be used in the future to support the restoration and development of socially, economically and environmentally sustainable EFS in the rural areas of Europe. Full article

A concept of resilient, embedded food systems (EFS), environmentally, economically, culturally, socially, and historically linked to certain territories, has been recently gaining attention as a vital response to the globalization of food systems and all its associated challenges. Support for territories on their way to sustain or restore such community-centric, embedded food systems requires transdisciplinary knowledge and skills, and thus effective food system education, including higher education, has an important role to play. The GOODFOOD study looked into the students’ interest in the topic of regional and territorial food systems and their opinion on the importance of certain elements of a food system that is embedded in a region or territory. Students were also asked about the presence of courses or topics related to territorially or regionally embedded food systems in their study programs, their opinion on the usefulness of such courses for their future employment, and the most demanded teaching methods that should be applied to study EFS topics. An online survey carried out among students of the Warsaw University of Life Sciences in Poland of selected study programs related to food science revealed that 70% of respondents are interested in the topic of regional food systems. At the same time, 50% of students have not had any courses related to territorial food systems in their study programs so far, even though over 70% think that such a course would be useful for their future employment. Interactive field trips and excursions, international courses (in a multicultural, international environment), interactive workshops, and cooperation with food system stakeholders (i.e., an internship in a food company) were among the most highly demanded teaching methods to study EFS. Full article