Dear Friends of OnFoods,

As we approach Christmas and the conclusion of the third year of our journey together, I feel the need to pause for a moment and say thank you once again.

I am deeply satisfied and proud of the work each of you has carried out over these past months, both in the scientific and in the administrative and managerial components. The path we have traveled as the OnFoods community has been intense, demanding, and at times challenging, yet always driven by passion, expertise, and a strong sense of responsibility. 

The size of our team and its distribution across such a wide territory may not have allowed everyone to develop that strong sense of belonging often associated with members of a project consortium. However, I am confident that, at least within each spoke and even more so among the young researchers who have worked tirelessly to advance and expand our research and the dissemination of our approaches, the spirit of the OnFoods community has found fertile ground.

I have witnessed this firsthand at our project meetings and at the gatherings I have attended. I have read about it in our newsletters and in articles published in our magazine. I have heard it directly from the voices of my youngest collaborators.

As every year, I cannot fail to stress how crucial our work is in building and improving food systems that are more sustainable, healthier, and more inclusive in a world marked by environmental crises, wars, growing inequalities, and social fragilities. We are not merely producing data and publications! We are helping to define concrete possibilities for change. 

I truly like to think of it this way. I already said so in last year’s letter, and I am even more convinced of it today: let us all remember that doing research is a privilege. A privilege that becomes a responsibility when it is placed at the service of the common good. For this very reason, every result we achieve is never just a personal or group milestone, but a fragment of hope that stands against cynicism, resignation, and the idea that “nothing can really change”.

We have now entered the final phase of the project, as 30 April 2026 will mark the formal conclusion of OnFoods (unless further surprises arise…). This date, however, should not be seen as an “end” but rather as a natural stage in a journey that has already begun, sowing seeds for the future: new collaborations, new ideas, new tools, and perhaps even new organisational forms. The post-OnFoods phase will not simply be a continuation of what we have implemented so far but will bring renewal and unexpected developments. The work we are carrying out now is what will make this future possible.

I would like to extend a special message to the younger researchers active across the many locations of our research community. To those who have already found a stable professional home and a fulfilling career path, whether in a public or private research institution or in a company, I wish you continued success in generating ideas and pursuing them with the same enthusiasm you have shown during these years of the project. Indeed, according to our international evaluators as well, it has been the younger researchers who have been the true driving force of OnFoods. 

To those who, for one reason or another, whether at the very beginning of their research careers or for countless other reasons impossible to fully explore in this long Christmas letter, still see some uncertainty or instability in their future, I wish you the opportunity to demonstrate your value and to have the years spent working on our project recognised as a period of research training or scientific maturation that truly represents a competitive advantage. I promise that I will do everything within my power to support your future careers. You know it may not be much, but you can count on it. Reach out to me. I will be ready and responsive, just as I have been so far with those who have written to me.

Finally, during this Christmas season, allow me to offer a simple yet essential recommendation. I invite you to do everything you can to make the lives of others a little better. Do so through small or large gestures, in the care you show in relationships with those who work alongside you, in your attention to those who are more vulnerable, and in the everyday choices you make regarding food, the environment, and social justice. Remember that behind the numbers of our research there are always people, communities, and real territories. If we manage to bring some of this spirit into our laboratories, our offices, our meetings, and our personal lives, then OnFoods will be far more than a “funded project” and will continue, in the future as well, to represent a community capable of generating meaning and care.

I conclude with the sincere wish that the warmth of the holiday season may reach each of you and your families, and that the new year may bring peace, health, serenity, and the energy needed to guide OnFoods toward a brilliant and rich conclusion, full of new opportunities.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and your families.

Con infinita stima e grande affetto,

Daniele

President
OnFoods Foundation