<< Background >>Food sustainability is an important issue for the food sector, not only because it’s ethic, fair and appreciate by the customers, also because EU rules are going more and more strict in order to face this challenge. From this point of view, sustainable food businesses have a great economic value and a solid potential of growth. Building a stronger and more equitable food system requires the fresh thinking, talents, and a renewed spirit of entrepreneurship. However, in order to facilitate the creation of future sustainable food production and service entrepreneurs, the young must be made aware and trained about sustainability.With these aims, the education system can develop programs of training in the sustainability field. Tourism and Food sector are strictly linked to the environment, and they are encouraged to make their methods healthier and more environmentally friendly: they need professional profiles that are able to guide them towards this transition.Sustainable food system and VET education innovation can provide high-quality green jobs and permit to create new professional and entrepreneur profiles to fight unemployment and at the same time combat climate change and environmental decline from the food (and in part tourism) industry. The EU can only benefit from such efforts.If we add a specific vocational training module to food related VET programs and curricula, recognizable by the member states, we will promote the knowledge and development of new skills and abilities in the food sector. In this way we can create sustainable green jobs in food businesses, as well as promote the green transition of existing companies and the creation of new ones.This model can lead to improve sustainability awareness of the future professionals of the food system, that will also improve their employability.Before 2020, tourism and food service sector suffered a rapid and somehow chaotic growth that has left its mark on the economy, the society, and the environment of countries as Spain, Portugal and Italy. If the impact on the economy has been particularly positive, with tourism boosting the national GDP growth, on the contrary the society and nature have suffered. On one hand the residents felt the pressure of this “explosion” of tourists with increasing rent prices and a general inflation and competing for space in the big cities such as Barcelona, Rome and Lisbon. On the other hand, the environment has also suffered with the increasingly damaging use of natural resources now needed for all the extra visitors. The post covid19 pandemic recovery of tourism and restaurant service sector must be based on sustainability: increasing the tools at its disposal is essential. Among them, the green skills of its human resources is, probably, the most impressive.At the same time, the Covid19 pandemic has widened the gap between those who have digital skills (or financial means to achieve them) and those who do not. This is especially serious in the poorer areas of Western Europe such as Portugal and southern Italy. Recognizing the need to overcome digital illiteracy that is still prevalent in education and that contributes to social and economic inequality in these areas, the project partners have decided to include the improvement of digital skills between the goals of VET4FOOD, in order to improve the competences of future professionals of the food related sectors and, at the same time, also the digital and professionals skills of teachers, empowering both in the face of the new challenges posed by the pandemic.<< Objectives >>The project has four main objectives:1. to reduce the training gap within food VET schools with regard to food sustainability issues, by improving the competence and skills on food sustainability of teachers and students and their awareness of its importance in the fight against climate change; 2. to improve the quality and efficiency of mainstream vocational and educational training in order to meet the needs of tourism and food related sectors that requires staff capable of correctly taking on food sustainability related issues.3. to impulse the embedding of food sustainability topics in food VET schools curricula, facilitating the implementation of a food sustainability module.4. make VET teachers aware of the importance of increasing student participation using learning methodologies based on experience. Improve their skills in the use of educational entertainment techniques, and their digital competences to stimulate both face-to-face training and training online.<< Implementation >>During the project VET4FOOD, two activities addressed to VET teachers will be implemented:• A first online synchronous training on food sustainability preceded by a Moodle-based asynchronous self-learning. Teachers of the three partner schools will attend this training event as learners who need to acquire the theoretical knowledge necessary to deliver high quality training on food sustainability.• A second face-to-face training on the use of edutainment approaches to training, focused on experiential learning, also through the use of digital technologies and tools.Other two activities will be addressed to VET students:• A first online short-term exchanges of groups of pupils on food sustainability topics specifically related to nutrition and health (Nutritional sustainability) and to ecological, energetic, water footprint, biodiversity, food waste, etc. (Ecological sustainability).During this first students’ exchange the online training activities will be based on e-learning by doing, web-based edutainment, online team activities, testimonies and interviews with operators of the sustainable food production and/or service.• A second face-to-face short-term exchanges of groups of pupils on food sustainability issues related to the Circular Economy, Alternative production systems, Local Economy (Economic Sustainability) and to food cultural heritage, accessibility and social economy (Social Sustainability). During this second students’ exchange the face-to-face training activities will be based on learning by doing, edutainment activities, simulations and role plays, team activities and visits to operators of the local food and/or tourism industry who have successfully developed sustainable food production and services. In addition to knowledge about food sustainability and soft skills, this second training has the aim of increasing the students' awareness of the positive effects that food sustainability can generate not only in terms of health, climate change and the environment, but also in terms of social and economic benefits and employment improvement.During all these students' addressed activities, the teachers will experiment and put in practice their knowledge on food sustainability and the competences on edutainment methods and tools acquired during the previous trainings. During all activities, the project partners will have the possibility to validate and improve the project results related to both target audiences.<< Results >>The main project results of VET4FOOD Project are:PR1. The design of a Food Sustainability VET Module for use it in mainstream food VET school programs and formal recognition of their learning outcomes. A VET Training Module structured in different Learning Units, list of contents, learning outcomes and corresponding skills and competence. PR2. Food Sustainability VET Teachers’ Training. This Training will contain the training path and the training materials that will be made available to the teachers of the partner schools participating in the blended training experience, structured in:- A downloadable Moodle-based online learning.- PPT downloadable materials with a resume of all the training contents.These materials will be used for the online teachers' self-learning followed by a face-to-face first Joint Staff Training Event. Both trainings will be very important to validate this 2nd PR with teachers, that are its target.PR3. Edutainment techniques and digital tools handbook for VET teachers. This handbook for VET Teachers will be based, from one side, on the most important elements of edutainment and, on the other side, on the most important digital tools for the teaching improvement.The most important techniques of edutainment and experience-based learning that will be included in the handbook for teachers are:- Learning by doing methodology, teaching techniques that boost proactivity and team work- Peer Education and peer assessment- Storytelling techniques - Experiential learning situation creation The most important open sources digital tools that will be included in the handbook for teachers are (between others):- Productivity resources for teachers and students. - Visual content editors that allow teachers to record their computer screen, in addition to editing the resulting video, adding effects, multimedia, titles, notes and transitions to the material. - Creators of e-learning environments and LMS.- Digital tools for the creation of quizzes, tests and gamifications for learning, self-evaluation and evaluation both individually and in groups.The PR3 handbook will be used by teachers to build the PR4 Food Sustainability VET Students Training.PR4. Food Sustainability VET Students Training. It will be based on the PR2 Food Sustainability VET Teachers Training and will be developed by teachers involved in the Food Sustainability VET Teachers Trainings (C1 and C2) on the main topics of food sustainability of four areas:1. Nutritional2. Ecological3. Economic4. SocialThe module will be structured in Learning Units that will contain the following elements:- Detailed description of the contents. - Definition of learning units and outcomes, skills and competences. - Supporting training materials for the training units delivery both in text and in a downloadable Moodle course.- Detailed experience-based training activities for each training units.All the PR will be available in the public section of the project website and on the Erasmus+ Project Results Platform and they will be therefore available for consultation and download by all food education and food related VET schools who want to introduce food sustainability topics within their curricula.