Our Living Labs

The Future Food Institute (FFI) advocates for the fusion of practical learning with tangible application within Living Labs. These joint spaces converge entrepreneurs, academics, and communities to forge the future of food and the planet. Strategically placed in energetic urban locales or marginal areas, they involve locals with diverse services, serving as breeding grounds for food-tech initiatives and the sustainable development of regions.

Their core mission is to elevate consciousness and encourage conversations on the challenges within food systems, acting as a catalyst for change. This is achieved through educational events, workshops, hackathons, and technology meetups.

• Officucina in Reggio Emilia, Italy, established in 2014, was an innovative Living Lab for the inaugural food and innovation master’s program students. It provided a hands-on environment to implement and refine their academic concepts and projects. This center advanced educational practices and significantly rekindled the community's engagement with agriculture, elevating it from a traditional sector to a vital influencer of local and regional food policies.

For further insight, please watch this video.

• Scuderia, situated at the University of Bologna’s historical campus, operates as a contemporary nexus where food traditions meet innovation. This hub consists of three specialized labs – urban farming, digital manufacturing for food, and the Food Alchemist Lab – catering to a daily influx of people interacting with food-tech startups. These startups leverage Scuderia to demonstrate their technologies and obtain feedback from a diverse audience. Scuderia's coworking spaces facilitate a unique blend of work and dining. It is a hub of educational and practical innovation, profoundly involving the community and contributing to the global food conversation.

For further insight, please watch this video.

• The Kyobashi Living Lab in Tokyo represents a pioneering model for regenerative neighborhoods, harnessing the area's 300-year legacy as a hub of food culture. Developed with the collaboration of a forward-thinking real estate firm and a community-centric organization, it stands at the forefront of urban innovation. It's an open platform dedicated to crafting sustainable cityscapes and a food destination that bolsters the bond between producers and consumers. The LL offers experiential learning for innovators, assists Japanese companies in adopting sustainable practices, and integrates them into the FF Global Network, fostering international and local eco-friendly dialogues.

• The Paideia Living Lab, launched in 2020 in Pollica, aims to revitalize the rural lifestyle of a small village “emblematic community of the Mediterranean Diet UNESCO Intangible Heritage” deeply rooted in the Mediterranean way of living. As an experimental center, it fosters a new social paradigm and embodies integral ecology, with the Mediterranean Diet as a tangible model. The LL is an educational hub where the interconnection of environment, health, social equity, and climate is emphasized, shaping a sustainable future for Pollica and beyond. Embedded in the Cilento area, a UNESCO site, it draws on deep cultural, historical, and philosophical roots, promoting active citizenship and ecological stewardship the perfect Living Lab for incubating the coding of the Algorithm of Longevity. 

For more insights, you can visit our page here and watch this video.