City profile for Athens

 Kids classes visiting university…

The Agricultural University of Athens, located in town is equipped with large farming facilities to demonstrate agriculture and breeding to the students as well as for research purposes. The university is receiving each year many primary and secondary schools for day tours demonstrating sustainability within all the major productions of Greek agriculture. An average of 116 schools and more than 5,000 students visit the University annually while specific healthy diet workshops have been conducted with some of the students in collaboration with foundations.

 Organic open air farmers markets…

During the last decade, open-air organic farmers markets develop. They mostly operate in the late afternoon/early evening. A list of these markets is available on the Internet with schedule and places. But they are not regulated by the Municipality and therefore less embedded in Athens citizens habits. Organic farmers directly sell they products reinforcing the link between local producers and Athens' consumers. Organic and non-organic markets develop as two parallel channels nether mixing to avoid quality and price discrimination.

Athens Municipal Nurseries…

The 82 nurseries of the Municipality of Athens are managed by a Municipal Agency (“Athens Municipal Creche”) serving around 4000 meals to kids per day. On top of it, the two central kitchens are preparing 2500 extra meals per day for homeless and people in extreme poverty. The food procurement is based on large international procurements procedure. Most of the food is still coming from Greece. Introducing green criteria seems difficult within the current legal procedure. Options of trying to include sustainable criteria on one particular ingredient (i.e. eggs) is currently in discussion as well as splitting procurement for nurseries with procurement for charity meals in order to better adapt sustainability criteria to each population.

 Carbon-free olive oil…

Food Standard, a consultancy company providing quality, organization and marketing services to agribusinesses and the wider food supply sector, took part to the development of a climate neutral virgin olive oil. It took into consideration possible reductions of carbon emissions all along the olive oil production chain (olive grove, olive press, bottling). By measuring the carbon footprint of the olive oil production, they managed to develop a new product and leverage on this symbolic product for Greece to raise awareness and interest on sustainable food.

Traditional taverna and quality organic restaurants…

Athens offer of restaurants is huge and is ranging from traditional tavernas that still serve original Greek cuisine to more modern restaurants leveraging on Mediterranean diet fusion menus. All of them celebrate the quality of ingredients and excellent cooking.

 Plato’s Academy Green streets...

Two streets in Plato’s Academy neighbourhood are about to be turned into green orchards. One was planed to be turned into a pedestrian area and the other was foreseen as a street in the urban plan. In both cases a consultation process with local population reveal a garden would be more appreciated. These are only two streets but in a city relaying heavily on car such as Athens, turning streets into gardens is of highly symbolic value!

 Urban gardens in schools...

In order to foster knowledge and interest in local quality food for young generation, the Municipality of Athens intends to support primary schools initiatives to organize small educative vegetable plots within the schoolyards. More than just the cooling effect of green roofs, such garden maintained by the pupils are the occasion to organize many teaching activities around sustainability, local ingredients, healthy cooking, etc, and then raise awareness and shift eating habits.

Market in the park…

The “Traditional Open Air Market and Craft Units and Agro tourism” is a recently build park in the mixed industrial area of Eleonas near the Plato’s Academy neighbourhood. The park has apparently been built to host an open-air market of traditional products and services, mainly in the field of craftsmanship and tourism. Big buildings from large institutions and companies surround the area. Disconnected from users it is unlikely that such development projects take place and have success there.