Open

Sustainable And Healthy Diets Based On Health Status And Socio-economic Risk Factors Of Ageing Population

HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions

Basic Information

Identifier
HORIZON-CL6-2026-02-FARM2FORK-10
Programme
Call 02 - single stage (2026)
Programme Period
2021 - 2027
Status
Open (31094502)
Opening Date
January 14, 2026
Deadline
April 14, 2026
Deadline Model
single-stage
Budget
€11,800,000
Min Grant Amount
€5,000,000
Max Grant Amount
€6,000,000
Expected Number of Grants
2
Keywords
HORIZON-CL6-2026-02-FARM2FORK-10HORIZON-CL6-2026-02AgeingHealth services, health care researchHomecareNutrition related disordersPopulation dynamics, aging, health and society

Description

Expected Outcome:

Project results are expected to contribute to all the following expected outcomes:

  • improved identification of specific dietary needs (including foods, beverages, food ingredients and nutrients) for the older population (above 65 years old) with a positive impact on their health, wellbeing, and prevention of any diseases (including those related to ageing);
  • better understanding of sustainable food production and processing, and of the social and economic impact of healthy diets on disease prevention among the older population;
  • improved knowledge in Member States and Associated Countries on how to develop at national, regional and local level the diet provided to the older population, in particular to those living in home cares or other structures hosting them as well as to people living alone;
  • improved identification of innovative easy-to-chew food products enriched with specific nutrients and bioactive natural compounds, that can be included into the diet of the older population.
Scope:

The topic is relevant to the EU policies related to ageing such as the Green Paper on Ageing adopted on 27 January 2021[1], the Commission Communication on Demographic change in Europe: a toolbox for action[2], Principle 18 of the European Pillar of Social rights on long-term care and the R&I Food 2030 framework.

Proposals should address all the following activities:

  • map data on the older population in Europe based on their gender, frailty, social (loneliness, disabilities, etc) and economic vulnerabilities (low income, etc);
  • develop and provide to Member States and Associated Countries a healthy and affordable diet programme (e.g. guidance, recommendation, etc) for the older population (including those in care homes) affected by malnutrition or at a high risk to develop malnutrition;
  • develop and provide to Member States and Associated Countries nutrient and tailored food dietary recommendations to be used in home care and other national, regional and local institutions or infrastructures responsible for the care of older people as well as for older people living alone;
  • develop and provide prevention campaigns and post-recovery programmes for the older population affected by any disease due to unhealthy diets;
  • develop and provide campaigns which consider the sustainability of food categories produced and processed with impact on the health of older population.

Proposals should involve the effective contribution of SSH disciplines. The support of experts in economic and psychological disciplines for older population is relevant for the scope of the proposals.

Proposals should consider as far as relevant the results achieved under the FP7 projects: “New dietary strategies addressing the specific needs of elderly population for a healthy ageing in Europe”[3] and “Optimised food products for elderly populations”[4].

[1] Green paper on ageing - Fostering solidarity and responsibility between generations - Publications Office of the EU.

[2] eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52023DC0577.

[3] New dietary strategies addressing the specific needs of elderly population for an healthy ageing in Europe | NU-AGE | Project | Fact sheet | FP7 | CORDIS | European Commission.

[4] Optimised food products for elderly populations | OPTIFEL | Project | News & Multimedia | FP7 | CORDIS | European Commission.

Destination & Scope

This destination will support the EU Commission priority ‘Sustaining our quality of life: food security, water and nature’.

R&I will provide new knowledge and innovation in support of the EU Vision for Agriculture and Food, built on the recommendations of the Strategic Dialogue on Agriculture, to ensure the long-term competitiveness and sustainability of our farming, fisheries, aquaculture and food sector within the boundaries of our planet. The implementation of the Green Deal actions will continue to guide R&I in this destination to foster sustainable food systems, addressing potential trade-offs between economic competitiveness and environmental sustainability.

The R&I activities under this Destination will contribute to the ambitious objectives of the current CAP concerning the competitiveness and sustainability of feed, food and non-food production as well as additional future CAP policy priorities. More specifically, actions will contribute to the specific objectives of the CAP; EU action plan for the development of organic production; food safety regulations; sustainable use of pesticides requirements under the plant protection products framework; action plan against antimicrobial resistance; animal health and welfare legislations; legislative and non-legislative initiatives to enhance cooperation of primary producers and improve their competitiveness and position in the food chain; protein strategy; contingency plan for ensuring food supply and food security and communications on food security and fertilizers, the Nature Restoration Regulation, the Zero Pollution Action Plan.

R&I will also support the announced Vision for the Fisheries Sector with a 2040 perspective and the European Ocean Pact, a framework of coherence across all policies linked to the ocean. R&I will also be relevant to the outcomes of the evaluation of the common fisheries policy (CFP) and will support its placement under this Pact, as fisheries and aquaculture are affected by other ocean related policies.

An important driving force of food systems transformation should be the integration of sectors, actors (including citizens and consumers) and policies. This will involve a better understanding of the multiple interactions between the components of current food systems, to foster solutions that maximise co-benefits with respect to the priorities of Food 2030[1].

The EU Communication on Boosting Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing in the[2] EU provides an overview of the application of biotechnologies in several sectors including food and feed. R&I activities in this destination will also contribute to achieving the objectives of the Strategy for European Life Sciences, the EU Biotech Act, and the new EU bioeconomy strategy.

The Destination supports unlocking the unique assets for research and innovation of the EU outermost regions, in line with the EU strategy for outermost regions[3].

Expected impact: Proposals for topics under this destination should set out credible paths to “ensuring healthy food and nutrition security by making agriculture, fisheries, aquaculture and food systems sustainable, resilient, inclusive and within planetary boundaries”. More specifically, proposed topics should contribute to one or more of the following expected impacts:

  • agriculture and food systems contribute to ensuring a secure, safe, sustainable, nutritious, and affordable supply of healthy food in Europe and beyond by fostering its long-term competitiveness, resilience, scalability and sustainability within the boundaries of our planet with the One Health approach;
  • farmers are empowered to ensure the competitiveness, resilience and sustainability of the farming sector, through increasing knowledge, tools, innovative solutions, and advice that allow efficient productivity, working for and with nature, preserving and restoring biodiversity within agricultural ecosystems and helping to decarbonise the EU economy;
  • sustainable fisheries and aquaculture (in marine, brackish and freshwater) contribute to fair, healthy, resilient and environment-friendly food systems in healthy aquatic ecosystems with thriving diversity of species and habitats providing ecosystem and climate services and triggering growth and jobs’ creation in coastal and rural areas;
  • tools are provided so that citizens and communities are empowered to make the sustainable food choices and move towards safe, healthy, nutritious, accessible, affordable and sustainable diets. Insights and advances in life science and digital & data technologies are valorised to deploy solutions in practice across the EU;
  • food businesses, including food processing industries and SMEs, are supported to increase their resilience and competitiveness, while ensuring resource efficiency and sustainability, and human, animal and ecosystem health is preserved.

[1] The four priorities of Food2030 are: 1) nutrition and health; 2) climate and environmental sustainability; 3) circularity and resource efficiency; and 4) innovation and empowering communities.

[2] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52024DC0137.

[3] COM(2022) Putting people first, securing sustainable and inclusive growth, unlocking the potential of the EU’s outermost regions.

Eligibility & Conditions

General conditions

1. Admissibility Conditions: Proposal page limit and layout

described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes.

Proposal page limits and layout: described in Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System.

2. Eligible Countries

described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.

A number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding have made specific provisions for making funding available for their participants in Horizon Europe projects. See the information in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.

3. Other Eligible Conditions

described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.

4. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion

described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.

5a. Evaluation and award: Award criteria, scoring and thresholds

are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes.

5b. Evaluation and award: Submission and evaluation processes

are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual.

5c. Evaluation and award: Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement

described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.

6. Legal and financial set-up of the grants

Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2021-2027) – and in actions under the Research and Training Programme of the European Atomic Energy Community (2021-2025) [[This decision is available on the Funding and Tenders Portal, in the reference documents section for Horizon Europe, under ‘Simplified costs decisions’ or through this link: https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/guidance/ls-decision_he_en.pdf]].

described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Specific conditions

described in the [specific topic of the Work Programme]

Frequently Asked Questions About Sustainable And Healthy Diets Based On Health Status And Socio-economic Risk Factors Of Ageing Population

Call 02 - single stage (2026) (2021 - 2027).
Per-award range: €5,000,000–€6,000,000. Total programme budget: €11,800,000. Expected awards: 2.
Deadline: April 14, 2026. Deadline model: single-stage.
Eligible organisation types (inferred): SMEs, Research organisations.
Admissibility Conditions: Proposal page limit and layout described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes. Proposal page limits and layout: described in Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System.
Legal and financial set-up of the grants Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2021-2027) – and in actions under the Research and Training Programme of the European Atomic Energy Community (2021-2025) [[This decision is available on the Funding and Tenders Portal, in the reference documents section for Horizon Europe, under ‘Simplified costs decisions’ or through this link: https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/guidance/ls-decision_he_en.pdf ]].
You can contact the organisers at [email protected].

Support & Resources

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Latest Updates

Last Changed: January 14, 2026
The submission session is now available for: HORIZON-CL6-2026-02-FARM2FORK-09, HORIZON-CL6-2026-02-FARM2FORK-08, HORIZON-CL6-2026-02-FARM2FORK-02, HORIZON-CL6-2026-02-FARM2FORK-11, HORIZON-CL6-2026-02-FARM2FORK-01, HORIZON-CL6-2026-02-FARM2FORK-03, HORIZON-CL6-2026-02-FARM2FORK-10, HORIZON-CL6-2026-02-FARM2FORK-06, HORIZON-CL6-2026-02-FARM2FORK-13, HORIZON-CL6-2026-02-FARM2FORK-05, HORIZON-CL6-2026-02-CLIMATE-02, HORIZON-CL6-2026-02-CLIMATE-01, HORIZON-CL6-2026-02-FARM2FORK-12, HORIZON-CL6-2026-02-FARM2FORK-14, HORIZON-CL6-2026-02-FARM2FORK-07, HORIZON-CL6-2026-02-COMMUNITIES-01, HORIZON-CL6-2026-02-FARM2FORK-04
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