Meet the coordinator behind FOODITY: Samuel Almeida, EU projects manager at F6S

Our FOODITY team comprises passionate and dedicated professionals from seven organisations across seven European countries. From Austria to Ireland, we all share a common purpose: to foster a digital ecosystem for food and nutrition solutions that upholds individuals’ right to personal data sovereignty in Europe.

To introduce FOODITY and the stories behind the project, let’s start by meeting our coordinator, Samuel Almeida, EU Projects Manager at F6S.

In this interview with Samuel, the driving force behind our impactful project, we gain valuable insights into FOODITY’s vision, goals, milestones and mission to revolutionise food and nutrition systems while championing data sovereignty.

“We are focused on funding very innovative solutions that bring something unique to the table and really want to push for a change in the way citizens use and look at their data when it comes to food and nutrition.”

Read the interview below:

Q: Hi Samuel! Could you introduce yourself and briefly describe your background and what motivates you, personally and professionally?

A: I was born in Portugal, raised in Canada, and am currently based in the lovely city of Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal. I have a degree and a Master’s in the areas of multimedia and technologies applied to communication and a PhD in Information and Communication in Digital Platforms. January 2024 marked ten years since I started working with funded projects, both national and international/EU.

“I’m personally motivated by the various opportunities internal collaboration in R&D and innovation offers.”

I’m personally motivated by the various opportunities internal collaboration in R&D and innovation offers, including meeting and working with new people, acquiring or expanding knowledge on the topics addressed by the projects and naturally meeting new places. 

As a father of two girls, I’m motivated by the challenges and fun of watching them grow each day.

I particularly enjoy our open call activities, which enable us to provide organisations with smaller grants and other support to help them grow and evolve their ideas and solutions.

Q: Now, tell us about the FOODITY project, funded under the Horizon Europe research and innovation programme. How would you describe it in a few words? What is its mission and vision, its main objective, and what you consider to be its most groundbreaking aspects?

A: In a nutshell, FOODITY is about developing solutions that give citizens control over their data. This brief description then ramifies into the various questions that the project aims to answer and the activities it will develop. Do we know what data we make available to others? Do we know who can access it and what they do with it? What are the current limitations of existing food and nutrition solutions? Among many others.

The project’s mission is proudly portrayed on the FOODITY website: to create a European ecosystem of digital solutions for food and nutrition that are respectful of citizens’ right to personal data sovereignty — and to demonstrate the potential of data-driven innovations in this area, engaging citizens in their development.

This mission is tightly linked to our objective, which is related to our Pilot Development Programme. We are funding 12 solutions that are able to demonstrate the potential of data-driven innovation in food and nutrition while ensuring complete user control over their personal data. We also expect these projects to promote citizen participation and deliver social innovation.

Regarding groundbreaking aspects, I would highlight the solutions we aim to fund. We are focused on funding very innovative solutions that bring something unique to the table and really want to push for a change in the way citizens use and look at their data when it comes to food and nutrition.

Q: What does your role as the FOODITY project coordinator (and that of the F6S team involved) consist of? What are you the most excited about in the project?

A: As coordinator, our role is the overall coordination of the project and making sure that we deliver what we are expected to and with quality. We have a multidisciplinary team of seven partners who are very committed to the project, so coordination has been an easy endeavour, also thanks to them. I am particularly excited about the Pilot Development Programme we are running and all the related activities.

We have a very interesting programme for the 12 consortia we are funding and an offer that goes significantly beyond the funding they will receive to develop their solutions.

Q: What are some of its most important achievements so far?

A: The project started in January 2023, so we are already a year old. A few things that can be highlighted include the identification of food and nutrition components that our open call projects are able to use; the development of an Alpha Version of our data management infrastructure (also to be used by the open call projects); an extensive literature review and several citizen engagement activities that have enabled us to better understand needs and perceptions related to data; a strong promotion campaign through our website and social media; and other work that has led us to successfully launching our first open call, select our first six FOODITY innovators, and will lead us to the launch of our second one. We can also mention a strong and fruitful collaboration with our sister project, DRG4Food.

Q: What benefits does FOODITY bring to food and nutrition systems? And how does it align with the EU’s research and innovation policy, specifically Food 2030, in doing so?

A: The benefits we expect can be analysed from several perspectives: the individual, as a consumer, which might perceive short-term benefits; then the other actors of the food value chain, which might reap medium to long-term benefits.

Regarding the former, we consider that an individual or consumer’s greater awareness of their data related to food and nutrition, whether that be food consumption habits or exercise-related, might drive a change in their behaviour: what they consume, when they consume, how they consume, and from whom.

This consumer-centred change, based on healthier and more sustainable choices, might, in the medium to long term, lead to changes in the food value chain: how food is produced, processed, packaged, and distributed. This idea is very much aligned with the Food 2030 four food and nutrition goals: nutrition for sustainable and healthy diets, food systems supporting a healthy planet, circularity and resource efficiency, and innovation and empowering communities.

“A consumer-centred change, based on healthier and more sustainable choices, might, in the medium to long-term, lead to changes in the food value chain.”

Q: Finally, what are the project’s next steps? And are there any upcoming initiatives and milestones that you can share?

A: Launching our second open call is one of our main priorities. If you are an SME, research organisation or work in social innovation and citizen engagement, we encourage you to consider applying.

Another activity is related to the final set-up of our FOODITY programme, which our selected beneficiaries will participate in.

We continue working on our internal technologies and also plan several citizen engagement activities in which everyone is invited to participate. We encourage our existing community and other stakeholders to follow our website and social media accounts for all updates.

Q: Any final words to end on?

A: To wrap up, I would reiterate our invitation to submit a proposal to our upcoming open call if the topics are of interest. We will have webinars and matchmaking opportunities to present the open call in detail and help entities connect.

A last point of reflection: if you have ever wondered about the potential of your data, particularly from a food and nutrition perspective, then this is a project we encourage you to follow. There will be many opportunities for you to engage with us, so stay tuned!