Urban Food Intelligence · A Solfood Research Programme

The Mediterranean
diet is a policy
instrument.

An ongoing series of evidence-based food policy studies applying the Mediterranean dietary framework to the most diverse, most food-vulnerable and most policy-ready cities of Northern Europe.

3
Cities published
96
Total pages · 80+ sources
R1–R6
Recommendations per city
+4
Cities in preparation
The Argument

The Mediterranean diet
is not a cuisine.
It is a structural logic.

"The communities of Delfshaven, Molenbeek and Wilhelmsburg do not need to be taught the Mediterranean diet. They already practice it. Policy needs to recognise it."

Each study in this series makes a different argument tailored to the specific gap between what a city already has and what it still lacks.

What all three share: the Mediterranean dietary pattern is the scientifically validated, culturally translatable and economically accessible dietary framework that Northern European cities are trying to build.

These studies are free to download and are also direct proposals to the cities they describe.

Published Studies · 2026

Three cities.
Three distinct arguments.

03
Study 01 · NL · 39 pp.
Rotterdam
Netherlands · Port City
The gap: Rotterdam has a strong food policy ambition through its Food Vision 2030 and Voedselraad, but still lacks a unifying nutritional framework connecting health, sustainability and food equity across its most diverse districts.
660k
Inhabitants
180
Nationalities represented
+18%
Cardiovascular mortality vs NL avg.
2030
Food Vision horizon
Study 02 · BE · 31 pp.
Brussels
Belgium · EU Capital
The gap: Brussels already has a sophisticated food strategy, but its health, equity and sustainability ambitions are still institutionally fragmented. The question is not whether the framework exists, but whether it can be named, measured and connected to the city’s most affected communes.
1.25M
Inhabitants
37.2%
Non-Belgian nationality
19
Municipalities
2022
GFS2 adopted
Study 03 · DE · 31 pp.
Hamburg
Germany · Hanseatic City
The gap: Hamburg has one of Europe’s strongest urban health research infrastructures, but no named food strategy connecting that evidence base to public food governance. The science exists; the policy bridge does not.
1.86M
Inhabitants
41.2%
Migration background
45k
HCHS cohort participants
104
City quarters mapped
Download Study — PDF, 31 pp.
Study 04 — In Preparation
Marseille?
Lyon?
Malmö?
The next city in the series is determined by where the argument is strongest and where institutional readiness is highest.
Propose your city
Methodology

Field knowledge
meets institutional
science.

Every Solfood study is grounded in public data and validated against the peer-reviewed literature that European funding bodies require.

But the analytical framework comes from the field. From fifteen years of research across Southern and Northern Europe.

This is what distinguishes a Solfood study.

City Selection Criteria
Cultural diversity
Significant Mediterranean-heritage or structurally aligned food communities already present.
Policy gap
A specific absence that the Mediterranean diet can fill.
Institutional readiness
A food council, a municipal food strategy, or a research institution that can act.
EU funding alignment
Recommendations designed to be fundable through EU and national instruments.
Work with Solfood

Is your city
next?

We are currently in conversation about Study 04. We are looking for cities that meet the selection criteria.

We are also available for direct consulting engagements and research partnerships.

If the argument of any of these studies resonates with your context, we would like to hear from you.

Solfood
Food Intelligence Studio
Solfood is a professional association for food system strategy, European project design, territorial development, food law and AI-assisted data intelligence.