The food sharing journey towards a strong community of practices

From the Webinar Series, via the Buddy Visits, to the Lisbon Bootcamp: immerse yourself in the progress the CULTIVATEs' Food Sharing Initiatives have made so far

Article by Jean-Marc Louvin, ICLEI

What does it take to build a community? There is no magic formula, but the CULTIVATE project seems to have found a recipe for success. The incredible journeys of the Food Sharing Initiatives (FSIs) began with a series of peer-to-peer online learning webinars. These webinars were designed to help the FSIs get to know one another, share what they do and how they do it, and exchange a bit of their passion and expertise. Most importantly, the webinars were also co-design around the challenges that FSIs wanted to tackle through their participation in CULTIVATE.

Over six months, a total of 11 webinars were held, each focusing on specific aspects of the FSIs. The series kicked off with Boroume explaining the importance of saving and sharing food. From there, a wide range of topics was covered, including how FSIs can create spaces for community and conviviality, discussed by Zusammen Leben and Upfarming, and strategies for addressing social inequalities, led by Nesehnuti. Brighton and Nesehnuti also explored how FSIs can better communicate with diverse audiences , while Utrecht and Terra Pagesa focused on engaging with different stakeholders. Other discussions delved into scaling up FSI projects with Milan, organizing and involving volunteers with FoodCloud, and exploring the multifunctionality of food sharing with Espigoladors and UpFarming. Additional sessions covered technical and digital solutions available to FSIs with FoodCloud and Terra Pagesa, regulatory challenges with Espigoladors, and financing and funding opportunities with Brighton. By the end of the webinar series, the FSIs had developed a deeper understanding of each other, recognised the benefits of being part of a shared network—one that was gradually becoming a close-knit community—and were eagerly anticipating the next phase: the buddy visits. The webinars, which have been brilliantly organised and moderated by JohannaVordemfelde and Jasmin Miah (ICLEI) with a lot of energy and enthusiasm, have been also rich in knowledge, with high attendance and sparking in depth-discussion, contributing to laying the groundwork for a strong and promising community of practice.

The buddy visits phase was designed to deepen the sense of community and enhance mutual learning and understanding. Each FSI was paired with another, allowing them to both host and be hosted. Thanks to that, the FSIs were able to showcase their work and gain deeper insight into their buddy's activities, projects, philosophy and strategy. The buddy visits transformed what had been a somewhat abstract and theoretical understanding of each FSI's work into a more hands-on and practical experience of the goals, strategies, challenges and solutions that each organisation has been developing to become a fully-fledged FSI.

The buddy visits would usually last one day and a half, with a few informal extensions for tourist activities. They would primarily focus on in-depth presentations and discussions about the hosting FSIs and its activities (gleaning, collecting methods, storing systems, community involvement, etc.) and on-site visits (community kitchens, social supermarket, field trips, urban gardens, etc.). With a wrap-up working called the crazy-eight, led by ICLEI, aimed at laying the groundwork for their upcoming Action Plan.

The buddy visits began in February and concluded in May. During this time, Zusammen Leben in Freiburg hosted Nesehnuti, showcasing their community gardens, which included both shared and individual plots, along with the diverse activities they organize. In return, Zusammen Leben visited Nesehnuti in Brno to see their community kitchen and find out more about food solidarity networks in Prague. During Brighton's buddy's visit to Milan, they had the opportunity to visit Hub Cuccagna, meet with the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact (MUFPP), and explore the social supermarket Solidando. Conversely, during Milan's visit to Brighton, they learned more about Pankhurst Pantry, the FareShare charity and its model for combating food waste, as well as the Real Junk Food Project, a café serving surplus food where costumers pay what they can. Upfarming, hosted by Utrecht, was introduced to the municipality's efforts to ensure healthy school meals, followed by an exploration of the Cascoland project, which revitalised a marginalized neighbourhood through community cooking and food-growing activities, and a visit to the edible neighbourhood of Rijnvleit. While Utrecht, during their visit to Lisbon had the chance to see vertical farming school project, the permaculture field of the University of Lisbon and community garden of Associacao Regador. Similarly, FoodCloud had the opportunity to glean with Espigoladors volunteers, visit their social supermarket, and tour the Imperfect facility, which turns vegetables into sauces and marmalades. On the other hand, Espigoladors visited FoodCloud in Tallagh to learn about Foodiverse, their corporate gleaning program, their storage systems, and to immerse themselves in a charity food distribution mission. Lastly, Terra Pagesa learned more about Boroume's activities in Athens while assisting in a food-saving initiative at a farmers' market. In return, Boroume explored Terra Pagesa's mission by visiting their headquarters and touring the aisles of Mercabarna.

The smiles on their faces and the heartfelt goodbyes were clear evidence of the buddy exchanges' success. When passionate food sharers come together to learn from each other, the inevitable outcome is an indescribable energy boost and deep connections. Perhaps, what summarises more the hole buddy visit experience is what Marc (Espigoladors) told us, with almost tears of joy: "we are not alone, now we can learn from each other and no doubt that—besides the hurdles—we are all doing the right thing".

The legacy of the buddy visits goes far beyond knowledge sharing and mutual learning; it's the camaraderie and new friendships that will endure long after the project ends, ensuring ongoing support in their shared endeavors. And what better way to conclude and solidify the community-building phase of the project than with a Bootcamp bringing all FSIs together in the vibrant setting of Lisbon at the start of summer? Held right after the final buddy visit, Upfarming, the Bootcamp host and organizer, truly outdid itself by masterfully assembling all the elements for a successful event. Over the course of three days, FSIs were invited to pair up again, reflect on the buddy visits, collectively envision their action plans (amplification projects), break them down into tasks and subtasks, anticipate challenges and opportunities, and develop strategies to overcome the former and leverage the latter. This intensive yet deeply rewarding work was balanced with moments of relaxation, nourishing meals from the oldest vegan restaurant in town, and insightful excursions into the Lisbon's food-sharing landscape, including RizomaCoop and Fruta Feia. The tangible outcome of the boot camp was a draft of each FSI's respective Action Plan, but the true success lay in the human community that emerged. A caring, supportive, and passionate family, rich in diverse backgrounds and united by an unwavering passion for food sharing.

Most of the FSI that are part of CULTIVATE didn't know each other when the project started. Now, as surprising as it might seem, it's like they knew each other long before. Looking back, the building up of the community of practice reached its goal and even very much successfully so. Starting with some thematic and introductory workshops, moving on to one-on-one in-depth visits and then closing with a collaborative workshop to support each other in their scaling-up projects, the FSI's journey has certainly not ended but undoubtedly succeeded in consolidating a strong and caring network of food sharing communities across the EU.

Photo credits: Ana Sofia Carvalho, ICLEI

Contacts:
Project coordinator:
Anna Davies
daviesa@tcd.ie

Trinity College Dublin

Communication Manager:
Leonardo Improta
leonardo.improta@icons.

Fondazione ICONS

Project website: https://cultivate-project.eu/
LinkedIn: CULTIVATE
Instagram: cultivate_eu
Facebook: Cultivate project
YouTube: Cultivate

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