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PLATE-lab
07 Apr 2026
Food for White Winters
Alpine skier Moa Boström Müssener, World Cup Åre 2024.
Food for White Winters is bringing loads of tasty food from nearby forests and farms to the World Cup stage. With a PLATE lab, Swedish Olympic athletes, scientists, chefs and the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) are testing how new nutritious meals could help skiers perform better and protect the future of winter sports.
Food for white winters responds to a global challenge: food production generates nearly one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions. The learning from the project will inform future FIS sustainability guidelines for food.
Photo: The International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS)
At FIS, sustainability must translate into action. By testing how science-based food principles can be translated into meals during our World Cup events, we are turning ambition into practical solutions. Based also on the results, we aim to keep developing our dietary guidelines for all FIS events and, hopefully, gradually expand the “Food for White Winters” approach across the entire FIS network and beyond.
Susanna Sieff, FIS Sustainability Director
A first step – new recipes
The first test meals of the project will be presented during the FIS Alpine World Cup in Åre, from 13 to 15 March 2026 as part of Nordic Sustainability Arena External link.. From three selected restaurants, athletes, coaches, conference guests, and volunteers will be served culinary meals designed to meet both high-performance nutritional needs while aiming to reduce environmental impact.
The Swedish Olympic medalists Charlotte Kalla and Andre Myhrer are trying the new recepies. Photo: Stephane Lombard
The recipes are created by chefs in close collaboration with nutrition experts and leading researchers. The recipes mark a first step towards winter-friendly dishes suited to sports events, anchored in local culture, and the specific needs of athletes and staff. The food served in Åre is based on local ingredients – including vegetables, dairy, and carefully selected sustainably sourced meat, such as elk– reflecting the Nordic food culture and the mountain environment.
Exempel från menyn – lunch och fika vid Nordic Sustainability Arena
Mushroom consommé with accompaniments
Chanterelles, roasted white cabbage, blanched celeriac and carrot, Vålåloffen cheese, leek oil, whole wheat grains.
Salad buffet
White cabbage salad, carrot, beetroot, whole grain pasta, green salad.
White caprine cheese, blue cheese, Vålåloffen cheese, carrot marmalade, sourdough bread, cultured milk bread (Swedish:filmjölkslimpa), crispbread.
Dessert
Blueberry cake
Coffee break
Sourdough bread with artisanal local cheese and vegetables. Grey pea muffin with oats and blueberries.
Insights and preliminary results
Researchers will collect data and study the results during World Cup Åre 2026. This includes data on the environmental impact of the food served as well as the nutritional content of the meals provided. Researchers will also interview people involved in the event to understand both the challenges and the factors that have helped make progress possible. The results will be published in a report on www.plateresearch.org External link. during 2026.
Early results points out the following changes from previous year:
- A larger share of organic ingredients is being used. Meals now include less animal-based food and more vegetables, legumes, and whole grains, as well as more locally produced products. Early analysis indicates a 10% reduction in climate impact.
- Portions now contain about 50 grams less meat than in previous guidelines, following recommendations agreed upon with FIS and a nutrition expert. This change corresponds to around a 20% lower climate impact.
Olympic medallist André Myhrer. Photo: Stéphane Lombard
Photo: Eva-Lotta Jansson
Elite athletes and winter sports can lead the way—with resilient and delicious meals that inspire far beyond the ski slopes.
Line Gordon, Professor, Founder of PLATE, and Director of the Stockholm Resilience Centre at Stockholm University, and co-author of the EAT-Lancet Commission.
A starting signal to inspire adoption across sectors
The experiment from Åre will inform future FIS guidelines and adoption across sports, municipalities, schools, and the wider food ecosystem.
One important governing document for the event is the FIS recommendations for food served to the athletes. These set requirements of at least 200 grams of meat or fish per portion and meal. This recommendation may be unnecessarily high, according to nutrition expert Linda Bakkman at the Swedish Olympic Committee:
Photo: Stephane Lombard
Foto: Sveriges Olympiska Kommitté
Good or bad nutrition is not defined by the presence or absence of meat. It is entirely possible to perform at an elite level without a substantial portion of meat in every meal. This is a first step.
Linda Bakkman, nutrition expert, Swedish Olympic Committee
In dialogue with FIS, meat portions for athletes during the World Cup in Åre 2026 have, in the majority of cases, been reduced to around 150 grams per person and meal, which lowers the climate impact of the meals by roughly 20 percent. To achieve a more significant reduction in the climate impact, the adjustments in this year’s menus are primarily focused on meals for volunteers and conference guests.
These initial changes will provide insights to inform efforts aimed at raising ambition levels in the coming years. Work to revise the FIS recommendations will begin in connection with the World Cup in Åre.
Transformation and change usually involves challenges and barriers. Some of the challenges identified during the planning of menus and recipes include:
- Balancing environmentally sustainable food choices with the use of locally produced meat and dairy products.
- Another challenge is consumer acceptability. Meals need to be appealing in terms of taste and familiarity.
- The large meat-portions for athletes in FIS recommendation.
- Access to locally sourced and artisanal food products.
- Food logistics and delivery to the restaurants.
- Time for planning.
- Increased costs.
Photo: Stephane Lombard
If we in sports lead the way and highlight smart, green and local choices, we can help protect the snow of the future together.
Charlotte Kalla, former cross-country skier and Sweden's most successful female Olympian of all time
Photo: Stephane Lombard
With Food for White Winters, we get the chance to test and show that sustainable food choices can deliver energy, strength and great flavor, while also reducing the climate impact that threatens our winters.
Andre Myhrer, former alpine skier and Olympic Gold and Bronze Medalist
About Food for White Winters
FACTS: Ambitions for 2026
- Tasty and attractive meals with high gastronomic quality
- Reducing greenhouse gas emissions
- Healthy energy content
- More vegetables, wholegrains, beans, and lentils
- Increased organic products
- Promote local food culture and local produce
- Promote small scale artisan food products
The project has tested to balance great taste, high nutritional quality, sustainability, acceptability, and price. This year, most of the sustainability work was focusing on using locally-produced ingredients and strengthening local small-scale food production and processing as part of contributing local value chains of importance for resilience. For the athletes, it has also been important to ensure that the meals are compatible with the high work intensity associated with competition, while also taking into account gastrointestinal tolerance among elite athletes.
Foto: Stephane Lombard
Local, artisanal cheese served during the Åre World Cup. Photo: Stéphane Lombard
The project is anchored in the latest science, i.e. the EAT-Lancet-report the EAT-Lancet Planetary health diet External link, opens in new window., and the PLATE-principles pdf, 21.4 MB, opens in new window.. Food for White Winters is part of PLATE and a collaboration with Stockholm Resilience Centre. External link, opens in new window. at Stockholm University External link, opens in new window., Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences SLU External link, opens in new window., Eldrimner External link, opens in new window. and local culinary innovators.
QUESTIONS
Questions and answers
What's Food for white winters?
A PLATE lab designed to test how the transition to resilient meals can be implemented in practice. It operates as a collaborative initiative, linking food, climate, and winter sports.
Why the focus on food at the Åre World Cup?
Food systems account for roughly one-third of global emissions—and change starts on the plate. Winter sports depend on snow.
How can elite performance and sustainability be combined?
Through a unique collaboration between athletes, chefs, researchers, and nutrition experts, meals are being developed that enhance performance while reducing environmental impact.
How do these dishes contribute to food system resilience?
PLATE is investigating how a meal can practically contribute to a robust and resilient food system. While knowledge about environmental sustainability and health in meals is well-established, the principles of food system resilience are less defined. This is an area PLATE will explore further in its research programme, examining factors such as:
- Ease of preparation, storage, and serving
- Sourcing of ingredients
- Flexibility of dishes
Organic food is produced under regulations designed to protect the environment and animal welfare. A key advantage is the absence of chemical pesticides, which benefits nature, farmers, and consumers. However, the climate impact of organic versus conventional products isn’t always significantly different. A clear benefit of organic farming is its support for biodiversity, the variety of plants, insects, and animals, often found in greater abundance on organic farms.
How does the project work with local producers?
The project prioritises ingredients from local producers to reflect Nordic food culture and the mountain environment. Menus feature vegetables, grains, dairy, and sustainably sourced meat such as elk. The ambition is to capture the taste of Jämtland. By working with nearby suppliers, the project strengthens the local economy, reduces transport emissions, and highlights regional culinary traditions.
Legumes are nutritious, packed with protein, fibre, vitamins, and minerals, while being low in fat. They benefit agriculture by diversifying crop rotation, which reduces the risk of pests and diseases. In partnership with nitrogen-fixing bacteria in the soil, legumes absorb nitrogen directly from the air, reducing the need for synthetic fertilisers. Replacing some meat with legumes can also significantly lower climate impact.
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