De Voedseltuin / The Food Garden [The Netherlands]

In a Nutshell:

De Voedseltuin or “Food Garden” produces ecologically sustainable vegetables and fruits for families and homeless people who are connected to the Dutch Food Bank. Approximately 3,000 people use the food bank because they cannot afford sufficient food. The Food Garden is part of the “Broedplaats” (Breeding Ground), which involves a broader set of stakeholders collaborating towards a more healthy, sustainable city. The Food Garden supports vulnerable groups so that they can access work opportunities. The Food Garden offers work through participation ‘spots’ to reactivate the unemployed with the goal to move to the next phase in a reintegration trajectory or to find a job in the regular work market. INHERIT helps provide insights into the broader challenges and opportunities for developing, maintaining and expanding urban food gardens.

Health-Equity-Environment:

The Food Garden improves health standards by supporting more sustainable consumption with a higher availability of fruit and vegetables for the local community. The volunteers in the food garden are also expected to experience health benefits from the work (move more, eat healthier, better well-being) and the urban green belt promotes physical activity. Health equity is enhanced by providing healthier food for the more vulnerable who may also be without employment and are now provided with the opportunity to volunteer to grow crops and produce food, empowering them for the labor market and increasing their social networks. Urban farming is carried out without artificial fertilizers or chemical pesticides; the water used in the garden is collected and re-used; and the volunteers are educated on how to grow food in a sustainable way (using permaculture). Pedestrians can walk through the green belt area where the garden is situated, schools can visit, and this is expected to increase the accessibility and attractiveness of urban farming. The effects of increasing awareness of growing sustainable foods can have positive impacts on the environment.

Key Features:                     

• Urban farming for healthy food for those most in need plus training on how to grow food in more sustainable ways.
• Offering vulnerable groups with the opportunity to produce food and increase their possibilities in the labor market.
• Stakeholders: municipal authorities of Rotterdam, Rotterdam Cares and other welfare organisations, volunteers.
• Sectors: public, private and volunteer, or: policy makers, food and farming, education, private enterprises, welfare organisations.