Developed by the Municipal Health Department of the Porto City Council, the digital book was officially made available to the public during a presentation session held this Friday at the Bolhão Market.
Throughout its 21 pages, the municipality invites readers to "cook the future" through tips for a healthy and sustainable diet, without ever forgetting Porto's gastronomic identity. For the more adventurous in the kitchen, seven recipes are presented that reflect the health and sustainability principles of this book. The Bolhão Market stalls where readers can find the respective ingredients are also identified.
The launch event, which took place in the Alexandre Braga Atrium of the symbolic Market, featured as speakers Gabriela Queiroz, City Councillor for Health; Pedro Moreira, Full Professor at the Faculty of Nutrition and Food Sciences of the University of Porto; and Susana Bettencourt, Executive Director of GO Porto, the municipal company that manages the Bolhão Market.
Gabriela Queiroz stated that this e-book was created under the Municipal Health Literacy Promotion Program and "aims to be a small teaser of some healthy recipes linked to the city's identity," highlighting the connection between health, sustainability, and cultural identity. Regarding the choice of Bolhão Market for this presentation, the councillor added that the space is one of the main landmarks of the city's identity, maintaining its role of selling local, quality products.
Pedro Moreira framed the relevance of this publication in light of current food and sustainability challenges, underlining that "it is not enough to eat well; choices must also promote the sustainability of the planet." Bringing the discussion to Porto's reality, the professor viewed the Market as a bridge to a healthy food environment.
Susana Bettencourt, who attended representing GO Porto, considers Bolhão Market to be, above all, "a heritage of knowledge in the field of food. Here, people can learn how to purchase food, how to cook it, and how to preserve it."
The promotion of healthier and more sustainable food environments is a priority for the Municipality of Porto, which, since 2019, has been implementing the +Saudável +Sustentável (+S+S) [More Healthy More Sustainable] project in various institutions across the city. This project is based on a structured intervention model, using integrated and participatory approaches tailored to the real context of the organizations, aiming to improve institutional food environments by aligning nutritional quality with food sustainability.
