Fostering Community Engagement and Reducing Food Waste: Insights from the 'Dialog im Quartier' Project
ToNoWaste connects international actors who work on food waste. Ulrike Bechtold from ToNoWaste met Dubravka Vrdoljak, the project manager of “Dialog im Quartier” a Zurich - Basel Plant Science Center project. She gave insights into her work and introduced two relevant workbooks: one which a knowledge collection and one on the methods4. “Dialog im Quartier” works on eating habits, food waste and local food supply. We tested different methods within large dialogue events with residents. Regarding food waste, we developed a parkour where the participants go from station to station, supervised by students. The game “Crooked Veggie Making” explores why vegetables don’t end up in the supermarket. These applied transdisciplinary methods create interactions and space for exchanging experiences. This is important since food and nutrition habits are personal and intimate. Even if you are not a multiplier or a large-scale actor, you are always a role model and inspire others. And the more like-minded people you know, the more empowered you feel. Our workbook reflects knowledge based on many individual conversations with actors - an important quality because our world is becoming more complex, and bold statements are not sufficient. We need a certain depth of knowledge to improve overall education. These two publications contribute to a high standard of integrating actors, and they help other practitioners to reach practice actors on both levels: organizing citizens’ involvement and providing valuable knowledge.
TOWARDS A NEW ZERO FOOD WASTE MINDSET BASED ON HOLISTIC ASSESSMENT
Ongoing | 2022-2027
- Main funding source
- Horizon Europe (EU Research and Innovation Programme)
- Geographical location
- Spain, Austria, Netherlands, Sweden, Greece