This article was originally published on the ‘Our Daily Bread’ (ODB) network’s webpage at ourdailybreadnetwork.eu
The 14th and 15th of January 2025 marked a significant milestone for ‘Our Daily Bread’, with the network’s first-ever summit being held and the initiative officially launched in Brussels.
The events started with an internal summit at the Maison Notre-Dame du Chant-d’Oiseau, a conference centre on the grounds of a Franciscan Friary in Brussels, where eleven participants in person (with additional online participants at various stages) represented nine different organisations.

Our Daily Bread is an ecumenical network of faith-based organisations (FBOs) that work on the subject of agriculture and food systems. After a JESC’s 2023 report recognised that over 150 FBOs were working on this topic in the European Union, a group of organisations came together informally to discern the creation of an advocacy network. This discernment culminated in a manifesto and the aim to launch this network in January 2025.
The summit began with a closed session where members of ODB discussed a plan for 2025, which included a campaign in Lent, a report to be released on diets, and where we can contribute in upcoming EU policy debates. 2025 is a big year for food policy in the EU as the debate for the next multiannual financial framework and Common Agricultural Policy begins.
This was followed by a public event in The Chapel for Europe titled ‘Christian Vision for Sustainable Food Systems’, which officially launched this network. The highlight of this event was a panel discussion with former MEP and adviser to Ursula von der Leyen, Philippe Lamberts, and economist and theologian, Gaël Giraud SJ.
The debate highlighted the importance of the role European Institutions can play in securing a fair and sustainable food system for Europeans. Both speakers emphasised that the Christian vision of hope must not be forgotten when advocating for a sustainable food system and that our network can act as an agent of this hope.

The launch marked only the beginning for Our Daily Bread, and you are invited to keep up to date with this initiative through this website, our LinkedIn and Facebook pages.