The Lab on Urban Food Policies (LUPPA) — a pioneering program that supports Brazilian cities in building fairer, healthier and more sustainable food systems — is open for applications. Carried out by the Comida do Amanhã Institute in co-realization with ICLEI Brazil, the program combines technical training, mentoring between cities, exchanges of good practices, and the production of content tailored to diverse municipal contexts in Brazil.

Since its creation in 2021, LUPPA has consolidated its position as the largest community of cities in the world dedicated to the topic, currently comprising 54 municipalities from 18 states, in addition to 5 mentoring cities, which together represent millions of inhabitants.

The work carried out by LUPPA has been widely recognized internationally, both for its innovative methodology and for its ability to build a support network of Brazilian cities. The program is cited as an example of an urban food public policy lab with impact on food system transition in reference reports, such as the “State of Food Insecurity in the World 2023” (FAO, UNICEF, IFAD, WFP) and “From Plate to Planet” (IPES FOOD, 2023). In 2024, it stood out as a national network of cities by the High-Level Panel of Experts on Food and Nutrition Security from the UN World Committee on Food Security. More recently, in 2025, it was recognized as a reference experience in urban food policies with an integrated approach in the FAO report “Transforming Food and Agriculture through a Systems Approach”, a document that exemplifies the relevance of adopting systemic perspectives to face contemporary food challenges.

“When LUPPA was launched, our goals were, firstly, to engage five cities – we engaged 23. Secondly, we wanted to reach three editions – we are now concluding the 4th. Thirdly, we aimed to influence the national food agenda for cities – we not only ensured the consolidation of this agenda in Brazil, but today we also work to develop a global food-systems agenda for cities. Starting the 5th edition of LUPPA is not about growing, it is about increasing the quality of what we do and expanding our impact capacity”, affirms Juliana Tângari, director of Comida do Amanhã.

The selection of cities values territorial diversity, seeking to include municipalities from all Brazilian biomes. For this edition of LUPPA, up to 10 cities will be selected, and 40% of the openings will be allocated to municipalities in the Legal Amazon.

In 2024, the program held LUPPA LAB in the Amazon region for the first time, in the city of Barcarena (PA), bringing together more than 120 municipal managers and highlighting the construction of a joint climate agenda for COP30, which will take place in Belém. This experience reinforced LUPPA’s role as a space for innovation and coordination between different sectors, strengthening the food and nutrition security agenda on local and global scales.

“These moments of exchange that occur throughout the activities of LUPPA and LUPPA LAB are motivating and inspiring, as they encourage us to put into practice policies and actions that will corroborate food and nutrition security and the promotion of urban agriculture, of agroecology”, emphasizes Elinia Marsango, representative of the city of Itajaí (SC).

For Rodrigo Perpétuo, Executive Secretary of ICLEI South America, this new edition “reinforces the commitment to supporting municipalities, especially those in the Legal Amazon, in transforming their food systems in a fair manner and in alignment with global agendas, such as COP30”. He adds: “LUPPA has been a catalyst for Brazilian cities to advance innovative food policies, connecting food security, sustainable development and climate action”

Applications are open until October 20. For further details about the selection process, access the full public notice here: bit.ly/EditalLUPPA5.