L'école comestible

What L'école comestible does

L'école comestible is a French non-profit association (loi 1901) founded in late 2019 by journalist Camille Labro to deliver food education programs in primary schools. The organization is headquartered in Paris at 12 rue Saint Maur and operates as a recognized entity of public utility, delivering programs free of charge to schools in partnership with the Edible Schoolyard network founded by Alice Waters in 1995.

The association's core offering is a multi-year pedagogical pathway (typically six annual sessions over three- to eight-year horizons) comprising sensory workshops, culinary workshops, school garden creation, visits to food producers, and a canteen connection program. These programs are aligned with the French national education curriculum and target children aged roughly four to eleven (maternelle through CM2). The technology stack is minimal: a Wix-hosted public website (ecolecomestible.org), a separate teacher registration portal (portail.ecolecomestible.org), and standard social media channels. Delivery is conducted in person through a collective of approximately 400 unpaid volunteers including cooks, teachers, parents, farmers, gardeners, nutritionists, researchers, and artists, organized across nine regional antennas covering Île-de-France, Provence, Bretagne, Bourgogne, Occitanie, Hauts-de-France, Pays de la Loire, and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.

L'école comestible generates no commercial revenue. Its income is derived entirely from voluntary donations and annual membership fees (adhésion) collected through the HelloAsso platform, supplemented by the implicit capacity to access institutional grants and tax-advantaged giving flows associated with its public-utility status. As of the 2024-25 reporting cycle, the organization reports having reached more than 50,000 children across 415 schools and conducted over 7,000 workshops since inception, supported by roughly 500 trained or sensitized teachers. There are no disclosed funding rounds, paid investors, subsidiaries, or M&A activity, consistent with a community-led association model.

Name

L'école comestible

Legal name

L'école comestible

Website

https://ecolecomestible.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

L'école comestible is a French non-profit association founded in 2019 that delivers free, volunteer-led food education programs in primary schools across nine French regions, adapted from Alice Waters' Edible Schoolyard model.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Food Education Services

NAICS

Educational Services (611), Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

After-School Academic Support Programs (Centers & Clubs) (EDAJALAM)

akta.pro secondary industry

Specialized Instruction & Resource Support (Inclusion, Pull-Out, Co-Teaching) (EDAJAKAC)

Keywords

• Food education programs
• School garden programs
• Sensory food workshops
• Edible education nonprofit
• Pedagogical culinary workshops

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices9 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Donations and Membership: Non-profit organization funded through voluntary donations and membership fees (adhésion) collected via HelloAsso platform. Services delivered free of charge to schools.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

L'école comestible is a French non-profit association that delivers free food education programs to primary school children (ages 4-11). Its offerings combine sensory workshops, organic school gardens, culinary workshops, visits with food producers, and canteen improvement initiatives, structured around 6 annual sessions per school over 3-8 year periods aligned with national education curriculum themes. All programs are delivered at no cost to schools through a network of trained volunteers and food professionals.

Product overview

L'école comestible is a non-profit association offering a unified portfolio of edible education programs for school children (ages 4-11). The core offering consists of pedagogical pathways combining sensory workshops, culinary workshops, school garden projects, visits and encounters with food producers, and canteen improvement programs. Each pathway comprises approximately 6 annual sessions over 3-8 year periods, aligned with national education curriculum themes. The organization also provides a teacher portal for program registration. Programs are delivered free of charge to schools through a network of volunteers, market gardeners, chefs, and food professionals, operating across multiple French regions including Île-de-France, Provence, Brittany, Burgundy, Toulouse, Lille, Nantes, and Lyon.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Pedagogical Programs (Parcours pédagogiques) Educational pathways linking all stages of the food act, from earth to plate, including sensory workshops, culinary workshops, school gardens, and canteen connections. Programs consist of 6 annual sessions over 3-8 year periods, aligned with national education curriculum themes, and are delivered free of charge to primary schools.
• Sensory Workshops (Ateliers sensoriels) Hands-on food education workshops for children focusing on taste discovery, plant knowledge, anti-food waste, and understanding the journey from seed to compost.
• School Gardens (Potagers pédagogiques) Creation and maintenance of educational vegetable gardens within schools, enabling children to learn about plant cultivation and food production.
• Culinary Workshops (Ateliers culinaires) Cooking workshops where children prepare recipes, learn food preparation techniques, and share their productions together.
• Visits and Encounters (Visites et rencontres) Educational visits and encounters that connect children with food producers, farmers, and other food system actors.
• Canteen Connection Program (Liens avec la cantine) Program aimed at improving school canteen meals and children's daily food experience, connecting classroom learning with cafeteria meals.

Named customers3 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Edible Schoolyard (Alice Waters)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Foundational partnership based on the Edible Schoolyard model created by Alice Waters in Berkeley, California in 1995. This international food education model has enabled programs in over 5,000 schools worldwide. L'école comestible adapted this model for France to benefit all children and reconnect them to living things.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Edible Schoolyard: Founded by Alice Waters in 1995 in Berkeley, California, Edible Schoolyard is the original school-based food education program that L'école comestible explicitly models itself after. Both organizations operate school gardens and food education programs for K-12 students, with Alice Waters serving as L'école comestible's 'marraine.'
• FoodCorps: US-based non-profit that places service members in schools to deliver food education, school gardens, and healthy school meals. Directly comparable to L'école comestible's school-based food education workshops, with a comparable service-led delivery model targeting K-12 students.
• Kitchen Garden Foundation: Australian non-profit (Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation) implementing school kitchen garden programs in primary schools. Highly comparable model to L'école comestible's pedagogical pathways combining gardens, cooking workshops, and curriculum integration for children aged 4-11.
• Fondation Louis Bonduelle: French foundation promoting healthy and sustainable food through education and awareness campaigns, including school programs. Operates in the same French educational ecosystem as L'école comestible with overlapping food education mission and target audience of French schoolchildren.
• Food Revolution Network: Non-profit organization originally founded by Jamie Oliver advocating for food education, healthy school meals, and cooking skills. Directly comparable mission to L'école comestible's food education programs targeting children and school communities.
• The Sylvia Center: Non-profit organization in New York teaching cooking and food education to children and teens through hands-on programs. Comparable mission to L'école comestible's culinary workshops and sensory education targeting school-aged children.
• Life Lab: Garden-based education organization based at UC Santa Cruz running school garden programs and curricula for primary schools. Comparable garden-and-food education model to L'école comestible's pedagogical pathways, with strong curriculum-development expertise.

Broad incumbents

• Slow Food International: Global movement founded in Italy promoting good, clean, and fair food, with educational programs including school gardens and food culture. Larger, more established player in the food education space with broader portfolio but overlapping school-based initiatives.

Regional players

• Slow Food France: French arm of Slow Food International promoting local food culture, biodiversity, and education in France. Operates in the same geography as L'école comestible with overlapping educational programs around food traditions and sustainable eating.

Emerging players

• Wholesome Wave: US non-profit focused on food access, affordability, and nutrition education through produce prescription and community programs. Adjacent in mission to L'école comestible's food education programs but with a stronger food-access angle and different funding model.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@lecolecomestible
• Facebookfacebook.com/ecolecomestible
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ecolecomestible
• Instagraminstagram.com/ecolecomestible

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about L'école comestible