Agroecological transition of the French institutional food services: a multi-level perspective[La transition agroécologique de la restauration collective en France : une mise en perspective multi-niveaux]

With more than 3 billion meals served each year, institutional food services (IFS) are a key sector of the agri-food system in France, recently integrated into agroecological transition policies. However, the complex structure of this sector is relatively unknown, which can hinder the success of such policies. Combining different materials collected from 2018 to 2021, including a survey addressed to 300+ kitchens, we use the Multi-Level Perspective (MLP) heuristic framework to draw up a first panorama of the sector and understanding of its transition by focusing on: i) its governance and transformation through agroecological issues; ii) IFS kitchens and environmental labelling. This analysis provides a new perspective for stakeholders, policy makers and researchers.