GHENT, BELGIUM – “GENT EN GARDE” SUSTAINABLE FOOD STRATEGY

Ghent is recognized for its pioneering Gent en Garde food strategy, which promotes sustainable food consumption. The strategy encourages households to consume more plant-based meals, reduce food waste, and buy locally sourced products. Ghent also became known for its “Thursday Veggie Day” campaign, where residents are encouraged to eat vegetarian once a week. The city promotes urban farming and supports community gardens where households can grow their own produce.

• Over a two-year period, Ghent en Garde’s programs provided products or food baskets to 57,000 people in need.
• In 2009, the city of Ghent, together with the NGO Eva, launched “Thursday Veggie Day”, making them the first city in the world to officially introduce a vegetarian day.
• Around 7% of the population in Ghent is vegetarian, which significantly higher than the Belgian average of 2.3%
• Ghent has become the city with most vegetarian restaurants per inhabitant in all of Europe.

The city also launched a new distribution platform that redistributed over 1,000 tonnes of surplus food over the past two years to over 57,000 people in need, while the city has connected 120 stakeholders to improve access to sustainable and healthy food.

More information:

https://unfccc.int/climate-action/momentum-for-change/planetary-health/ghent-en-garde

https://stad.gent/en/city-governance-organisation/city-policy/ghents-climate-actions/sustainable-food