O LUPPA Lab It is the in-person stage of LUPPA – Urban Laboratory for Public Food Policies, LUPPA is an initiative conceived by the Food of Tomorrow Institute and co-organized by ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability. It is a collaborative platform aimed at public managers and representatives of organized civil society in Brazilian cities who wish to strengthen healthy and resilient food systems. A partnership between ICLEI South America and the Food of Tomorrow Institute, the program brings together different local governments to exchange experiences on the challenges encountered in structuring public policies focused on healthy and sustainable food systems, through workshops, roundtables, challenges, and immersive dialogues.

The LAB annually brings together public managers, civil society, and mentoring cities in immersive meetings lasting up to five days, featuring workshops, group activities, mentoring sessions, and technical visits. By 2025, 38 municipalities had jointly organized the program. Position paper on food systems and climate for COP30.

Products developed:

• LUPPA LAB's annual immersive meetings, with five editions held until 2026.
• Webinars and themed seminars throughout the year;
• Methodologies for developing municipal food policies;
• Anchor projects for municipal Food and Nutritional Security plans;
• LUPPA Notebooks with systematization of learning and best practices by edition;

Key results:

• Consolidation of the largest city laboratory for food systems in Brazil and the world;
• A network with more than 50 participating Brazilian municipalities, from all regions of the country, including the Legal Amazon;
• In 2025, 38 cities developed a joint position on food systems and climate for COP30, held in Belém (PA);
• Strengthening social participation and intersectoral governance in municipal food security policies;
• International recognition in reports from FAO, IPES-Food and the UN World Committee on Food Security as a benchmark in urban food policies.

Implementation period: since 2021 – ongoing

Funders: Food of Tomorrow Institute; ICLEI South America; Ibirapitanga Institute; ICS – Climate and Society Institute; ITAÚSA; Infinis Institute; Porticus. Institutional support from FAO Brazil.

Implementing organizations: Food of Tomorrow Institute; ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability. Methodological partnership: Reos Partners Brazil.

Territories where it was implemented: LUPPA has mentor cities, such as Belo Horizonte (MG), Curitiba (PR), Osasco (SP), Recife (PE), and São Paulo (SP). The latest editions of LAB were held in São Paulo (SP), Barcarena (PA), and Caxias do Sul (RS), among others.