A children’s menu may seem like a small detail in a restaurant or beach pavilion.
But what if it could help tell a bigger story about local food, healthy choices and the future of hospitality?
Within SPRONG Gastvrije Transities, this is one of the ideas currently being explored in Zeeland. The project looks at how the hospitality, tourism and leisure sector can contribute to more sustainable and future-ready regions.
SPRONG brings together researchers, universities of applied sciences, regional partners and frontrunners from practice. Together, they work in transition arenas: learning and experimentation spaces where people explore how change can happen in real places, with real businesses and communities.
One of these arenas focuses on Gezonde Regio: Healthy Region.
In Zeeland, the ambition is clear. By 2029, local, healthy and sustainable products should find their way more naturally onto the plates of guests through Zeeuwse hospitality. Collaboration across the food chain should become stronger, and the stories behind regional products should be shared more visibly.
So what can the wider tourism and hospitality sector learn from this?
1. A menu can be more than a menu
One of the possible student projects being developed is a healthy, local and sustainable children’s menu for Zeeuwse hospitality businesses.
The idea is simple, but powerful: make local and healthy food more visible and accessible in a place where guests already make choices.
For hospitality businesses, this shows that sustainability does not always have to start with a large strategy. It can start with something very concrete: what is served, how it is presented, and which story is shared with guests.
2. Local food is a system, not just a product
Regional food is often presented as part of the guest experience. But the Healthy Region arena shows that the topic is much broader.
To bring more local, healthy and sustainable products into hospitality, many questions need to be answered.
What is grown in the region?
Which products are climate-resilient?
What do hospitality businesses need?
What volumes do producers need to make local production viable?
Which Zeeuwse products stay in the region, and which leave for national or international markets?
This shows that “working locally” is not only a purchasing decision. It depends on collaboration, logistics, production, demand and long-term viability.
3. Frontrunners need support to turn ideas into action
The report shows that frontrunners in the arena are motivated by doing. They bring energy, practical knowledge and ideas from the field.
At the same time, they often need support to translate ideas into clear research questions, student assignments or project plans.
This is where a transition arena can add value. It creates a space where practical energy can be connected to research, education and regional networks.
4. Students can help bridge research and practice
Several possible student projects are being developed within the Healthy Region arena.
These include mapping local food initiatives in Zeeland, identifying frontrunners in hospitality and production, and exploring the children’s menu idea.
For students, this creates the opportunity to work on real transition questions from the sector. For entrepreneurs, it brings fresh perspectives and practical support.
5. The future of hospitality is connected to the region around it
The Healthy Region arena also shows that hospitality does not stand on its own.
Restaurants, beach pavilions, producers, schools, researchers, policymakers and regional networks all play a role in shaping healthier and more sustainable regions.
That makes the transition complex, but also full of opportunity.
A local product on a plate can connect many different things: farming, health, education, entrepreneurship, storytelling and regional identity.
From small choices to bigger change
The children’s menu is only one example. But it shows how future-focused hospitality can become tangible.
That is what SPRONG Gastvrije Transities is exploring: how the sector can move from ambition to action, and how hospitality can contribute to healthier, more connected and more future-ready regions.