Solar-powered boat will soon transport vegetables to the centre of Ghent

The innovative project aims to make the local food system more sustainable

Innovation is coming to the hospitality industry in Ghent – very soon, a boat powered by solar energy will be transporting vegetables to the local food and catering establishments. The boat will be developed by Goedinge – an organic farm located in South-West Ghent. They will use it to transport fresh produce by water to the city centre in a more environmentally friendly way.

Food innovations promoted by the City of Ghent

The prototype of the vessel (pictured above) has already been tested and the actual solar boat is likely to see the light of day this April. But what is even more special about the vehicle is that it is a product of a specialized programme, subsidized by the Belgian city aiming to make the local food system more sustainable.

2020 is the second year in a row that the campaign by Ghent Food Council takes places and subsidizes innovative ideas that will put the local food strategy into practice. The 30 members of the Council, coming from the agricultural sector, a range of civil society organizations, knowledge institutions and representatives of Ghent traders and catering industry, have selected 4 winners from among 17 project proposals that were received. Consequentially, a total grant of 62,000 euros will be made available for the implementation of the winning ones.

The other initiatives to be subsidized this year are:

• a project that will develop cooking workshops and catering activities that combine local, vegetarian and halal food;
• a project that tackles food waste in households through domestic help in terms of training on food storage and
• a project that transforms surplus food and harvest into meals to be offered at a lower price.

Ghent and Garde, the food strategy of the City of Ghent, was launched 6 years ago. Last year it won the prestigious Global Climate Action Award from the United Nations. In 2018 it also received the international Transformative Action Award, a prize from the Sustainable Cities Platform for cities or regions that work towards a sustainable society.