Our Digital Food Education project was developed following the challenges of the Coronavirus pandemic across Europe. As a response to COVID-19, most governments around the world locked down their populations and closed their schools in an attempt to contain the spread of the virus. There was a quick transition to online learning and teaching over the internet, and some schools were better prepared to meet these challenges than others.

We have summarised some of the issues, challenges and barriers faced in schools as a background to our digital food project. Although we hope that coronavirus will not force future lockdowns, there are many benefits that have some from the fast adoption of digital competences that we believe can support a blended learning approach for schools in the future.

Evidence from various OECD education surveys have been useful references in examining the preparedness of schools to this digital future. Click on the drop down menu for a brief summary in each partner country.