This article from Rooted Magazine explores how public procurement policies in Europe can drive agroecological transformation by prioritizing small-scale, sustainable, and organic farming practices. Municipalities like Copenhagen are leading the charge, showcasing the power of aligning public food contracts with environmental and social goals.

Key insights include:

1. Policy-Driven Change: Public procurement in schools, hospitals, and other institutions is increasingly being used to support local and organic farming. Copenhagen, for instance, sources 90% of its public meals organically, actively collaborating with small-scale farmers to meet its food strategy goals.
2. Addressing Barriers: Challenges like bureaucratic hurdles, logistical issues, and the dominance of large industrial suppliers often exclude smaller farmers. However, innovative strategies such as dividing tenders into smaller lots and offering educational components (e.g., farm visits) have been effective in overcoming these obstacles.
3. Collaborative Efforts: Copenhagen's revised procurement processes include partnerships with stakeholders such as farmers, catering professionals, and public officials to ensure smaller suppliers can participate. They’ve also reweighted award criteria to emphasize environmental and quality considerations over price.
4. Scaling Up: The city’s approach, combined with tools like the Farm-to-Fork toolkit developed in collaboration with other European cities, provides a blueprint for other municipalities to foster agroecological systems under existing EU regulations.

This transformation highlights the potential for public procurement to not only enhance sustainability but also strengthen regional food systems and promote food democracy across Europe.