Foodvalley: why the region around Ede knows so much about food

Take the train to Ede and you get off at the station it shares with Wageningen. The two towns belong together, and around both of them a remarkable amount revolves around food. Next to the station, a new district built around food is taking shape. In Wageningen, researchers are working on the beans of tomorrow. And in canteens across the region, there is a sandwich made with ingredients from the area.

Together, this area is called Foodvalley. What does that mean, what does it say about how the Dutch eat today, and what can you take from it when you throw a party yourself?

What is Foodvalley?

Foodvalley is the region around Ede and Wageningen, where eight municipalities work together with businesses and education. Farming and food come first.

The eight are Barneveld, Ede, Nijkerk, Renswoude, Rhenen, Scherpenzeel, Veenendaal and Wageningen. Regio Foodvalley calls itself the top region for agrifood, a place where knowledge and innovation in farming and food production take centre stage. Together the municipalities have about 380,000 residents, according to the partnership’s English site.

The heart of all that knowledge is in Wageningen. Regio Foodvalley calls Wageningen University & Research, WUR for short, the expertise heart of the region. The area also has universities of applied sciences, vocational schools and plenty of businesses. Food is the region’s main priority, Regio Foodvalley says, though many companies there work in quite different fields.

Ede has made food a policy for years

Ede treats food as a deliberate choice. According to the municipality of Ede, it was the first municipality with a food policy built around the whole food system, bringing the economy, health and sustainability together.

In 2015 the town set itself a goal short enough to stitch on a tea towel: healthy, sustainable food for everyone in Ede. If you are thinking about food in Ede, that is a good place to start.

The most visible project sits right beside the station. On a former army barracks site of 28 hectares, Ede is building the World Food Center. The municipality wants it to bring together everything to do with sustainable and healthy food, as a place to live, work and relax. Plans include 1,300 to 1,500 homes, with room for businesses, organisations, events and activities around food. The old boiler house, the Ketelhuis, is becoming a restaurant.

One thing will not be built: a large visitor attraction about food. In 2024 it was decided that the planned World Food Experience would not go ahead, the municipality reports.

A sandwich from the valley

For a taste of what regional food looks like on an ordinary Tuesday, look at the Broodje Gelderse Vallei, the Gelderse Vallei sandwich. Regio Foodvalley developed it with Future Up and local producers.

Three versions arrived in 2025, made with ingredients from regional producers. Since September 2025 the sandwich has been available at several organisations in the region, including Wageningen University & Research, the Gelderse Vallei hospital and Christelijke Hogeschool Ede. Sustainability, biodiversity and a fair price for the producer sit at the heart of it.

The idea is simple. Bring farmers, producers, buyers and eaters closer together, and food chains get shorter while sustainable food from nearby reaches more people. That works at a party just as well as in a canteen.

More plants on the plate, one step at a time

The Dutch still eat mostly animal protein. According to the Protein Monitor 2025 from Wageningen University & Research, around 39 percent of the protein in Dutch diets comes from plants and 61 percent from animal sources.

That ratio has barely moved since 2024, so the government’s target of an even split by 2030 is no closer, WUR writes. Yet researcher Marleen Onwezen of Wageningen Social & Economic Research sees movement elsewhere. Consumers increasingly accept plant proteins as normal, she says.

In the survey of 3,950 Dutch people, the intention to eat plant foods rich in protein rose compared with 2024, while the intention to eat cheese, milk and eggs fell slightly. And plant protein products are now cheaper on average than animal ones.

Beans from Dutch soil

Legumes are the obvious next step towards more plants, yet very few are grown in the Netherlands. According to WUR, less than one percent of Dutch farmland grows legumes, about 25,000 hectares in all.

Dutch brown beans are already grown in quantity, says Stacy Pyett, programme manager of Proteins for Life at WUR. But the country could be growing far more broad beans, yellow peas, soy and lupin. The broad beans in Dutch fields today are not fully suited to Dutch soil and climate, so at WUR plant breeders and food scientists are working together. They have identified 52 broad bean varieties, which are now being thoroughly tested.

So why is progress so slow? Everyone is waiting for one another, Pyett says. Farmers, the food industry and those of us who eat all need to move at the same time. Beans, peas and other legumes are healthy and sustainable, WUR notes, but at the consumer end there is still too little appetite for them. That part you can change, starting at your own table.

How to bring Foodvalley to your own party

You do not need to be a scientist to eat this way. Go with what the season offers, give vegetables and legumes a starring role next to the meat, and make no more than your guests will eat.

• Start with the season. What is at its best right now is in seasonal fruit and vegetables.
• Put a dish of beans, lentils or broad beans next to the meat, and serve it in just as handsome a bowl.
• Choose bread, cheese or vegetables from the region where you can, and tell your guests where they come from.
• Let vegetables fill most of the buffet. Meat is welcome, as one dish among many.
• Plan in portions rather than platters, so little is left over. More tips in less food waste at parties.

Looking for catering in Ede or further afield? Chef David Nagib, owner of Maximus Catering in Ede, makes everything just the way you want it. A hot buffet is available for 15 people or more, with an indicative price from € 22.50 per person including VAT. For drinks there are grazing boards from € 12.50 per person, and a vegetable fan or fruit tower puts produce right in the middle of the table. Feel free to ask for extra vegetables or a vegetarian or vegan dish.

Want this at your own party in Ede, Amsterdam or beyond? Read about catering in Ede, call chef David Nagib on +31 6 14336361 or get in touch.