Joint Office for Sustainable Food
Environmental and climate emergency
Healthy food
The Joint Office for Sustainable Food (OCAS) is a joint initiative of the Generalitat de Catalunya (Department of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food), the Barcelona City Council, the PEMB and Prodeca. The main objective of OCAS is to promote collaboration and synergies between food strategies, and to promote a more sustainable, healthy and resilient food system through urban-rural connections.
Objectives
To promote the food policies of the OCAS administrations.
To organise the sustainable food strategies of the administrations that comprise the office (the Generalitat de Catalunya, the Barcelona City Council and the PEMB).
To promote sustainable food projects involved in the different strategies.
- To share objectives, resources, knowledge and agendas to amplify the impact at the municipal, metropolitan and national level, seeking engagement with the rest of the region.
OCAS was founded in 2023 with the aim of coordinating and promoting food policies that encourage a change in the food system towards more sustainable models, creating synergies between institutions and addressing social, environmental and economic challenges. The institutions that comprise OCAS share a common vision of transforming the food system to ensure:
- Universal access to sustainable, healthy and quality food.
- Environmental sustainability with a positive impact on the environment, biodiversity and ecosystems.
- Resilience of the food system in the face of challenges such as rising food demand, pressure on natural resources and the need to promote healthier eating habits.
This approach is reflected in the food policy strategies and plans of the following institutions:
- The Strategic Food Plan of Catalonia.
- The Barcelona City Council's Healthy and Sustainable Food Strategy.
- The ‘Healthy Eating’ mission of the Metropolitan Commitment 2030.
OCAS’s Objectives:
- To coordinate food policies between member administrations.
- To express shared strategies on sustainable food.
- To promote joint projects that reinforce these strategies.
- To share resources and knowledge to amplify the impact of actions, to establish synergies at the local, metropolitan and national level.
Spheres of action
OCAS works in three main areas:
- Strengthening rural-urban connections through food
- Promoting a cultural change that brings urban citizens closer to the reality of the rural world and food production.
- Encouraging the consumption of sustainable products from small- and medium-sized farmers, making it easier to sell them.
- Mainstreaming sustainable food
- Introducing proximity and sustainability criteria in public food procurement.
- Facilitating knowledge transfer to promote sustainable food practices.
- Making spaces for shared governance more dynamic
- Providing technical support to the working groups of the City Agreement for the Healthy and Sustainable Food Strategy Barcelona 2030.
- With a metropolitan-wide scope, the OCAS promotes specific projects, such as the ‘Healthy Eating’ mission and the revitalization of the Metropolitan Region Food Charter.
Why is OCAS a joint office?
Food policies require a cross-cutting, collaborative approach. In this sense, OCAS makes it possible to coordinate efforts across different administrative and regional levels, thus maximising synergies between institutions and ensuring greater efficiency in the implementation of actions and projects
