World Food Day: Breda University launches FUEL project to drive healthier food choices

On World Food Day, Breda University of Applied Sciences (BUas) in the Netherlands is turning global awareness into action by joining a three-year research project to reshape eating habits in professional environments. The move aims to address the rising rates of obesity and chronic disease, and the urgent need for climate-conscious consumption.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says that one in eight people worldwide is now living with obesity. Studies state that institutional and workplace catering, like that in small and medium-sized enterprises, represents a significant opportunity to drive healthy workplace diets.

BUas is partnering with the Louis Bolk Institute and Wageningen University & Research (WUR), in the Netherlands, to examine how hospitals and company canteens can encourage staff and visitors to make healthier and more sustainable food choices.

The FUEL project will test behavioral and menu-based strategies — such as “strategic menu adjustments, smart communication, and nudging” — to encourage sustainable food choices among hospital staff and visitors. It will run from 2025 to the end of 2027.

“Company restaurants and hospital catering outlets reach millions of people every day, but they are not making the most of their opportunity to encourage healthy and sustainable choices,” says BUas senior lecturer and researcher Michel Altan.

“By changing this, we can make a significant impact on both health and sustainability. There is still a stigma that healthy food is not tasty and, as a result, the food offered by caterers is often less healthy than it could be.”

Beyond traditional campaigns

BUas says it will go beyond conventional information campaigns for the project. The university will participate in the initiative to develop evidence-based strategies and combine insights from behavioral science, nutrition science, and organizational psychology to design “effective interventions.”

“What makes this project unique is that we will not only look at the caterer and behavior in the restaurant, but also investigate whether people continue to make these healthier choices at home,” explains Altan. 

“We will measure effects that are essential for sustainable behavioral change.”

With millions served daily, company restaurants and hospital canteens have the potential to drive significant health and sustainability changes.

Propelling sustainable food choices

BUas emphasizes that employees of company restaurants are central to the project because the effectiveness of healthy food choices depends on acceptance by the service staff.

“More and more organizations recognize that healthy and sustainable food choices are important. Previous research has already shown that the employees’ role and contribution to food production or food supply is even more important: their motivation, skills, and possibilities are decisive in encouraging guests to make healthy and sustainable food choices,” notes the university.

The university will develop tools and training courses to support kitchen and service staff as “change agents” with knowledge, skills, and a supportive working environment.

“The decision to announce the project on World Food Day is symbolic. This international UN day draws attention to food security and healthy nutrition worldwide every year,” notes BUas.