View source for Foodtopia


=Description=

Thomas De Groot:

"Foodtopia started three years ago in Murcia, a university town in the southeast
of Spain. Initially just a pop-up kitchen on the university campus, it was run
by a collective of four passionate people from various backgrounds, from
engineering to retail. “We were, and still are, worried about the future that we
leave to our grandchildren”, says Jesús, one of the founders. “That is why
we wanted to start a revolution in the perverse food industry”.
And revolution is still needed, they claim. “The planet is warming at an
alarming rate and as a global community we are simply not doing enough.
People are already dying from climate collapse all over the world. The chaos
will increase. Meanwhile, ignoring warnings from everywhere, we keep talking
about economic growth. Our political representatives have abandoned us,
or so it seems.”

The idea behind Foodtopia was to ask people to bring their leftover food
to this campus kitchen, in order to turn it into communal meals for all. The
response was overwhelming right from the start. Within a few weeks, the
Foodtopia crew were feeding hundreds of people per day. Now, they have
food hubs in many other towns and villages, that run complete circular
systems, from local agriculture to production to communal meals.

“We are learning a lot from the urban farming revolution that happened
in Cuba in the 1990s”, Jesús explains. After the Soviet Union collapsed,
Cuba lost their main trading partner. That, combined with stifling economic
sanctions from the US, they had no choice but to radically change their
agriculture and economy in order to stop the ensuing famine. Cubans turned
to urban farming on a massive scale, pioneering techniques that people still
use today, all over the world.

Food is more than just a means of sustenance, the people behind the
Foodtopia project claim. It is the basis for community building, for civic
life. Gathering food, or growing it, cooking together and organizing meals,
it is all part of creating healthy and inclusive communities. And community
members can only do their part to stop climate change if they work together.
Jesús explains that Foodtopia strives for resilience in local food systems and
that they all have a strong sense of urgency. “We have all seen the studies:
our planet will collapse if we continue on this path of carbon dependence.

The Spaniards are not alone in their conviction. In cities all over the world,
organizations are creating new social practices by building communities
around food. Some work exclusively with food waste, others don’t. Some
never charge any money for the meals and others expect one or two euros
in return. But all share the belief that food stands for something much more:
it is a symbol for civic sovereignty and social revival. “People need to feel
sovereign in their neighbourhood”, says Jesús. “Food turns out to be the
perfect starting point for strengthening the community by sharing resources.”
(http://networkcultures.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/OUR_COMMONS_lulu.pdf?)

=Source=

Excerpted from chapter 5, of the Book: Our Commons: Political Ideas for a New Europe. Ed. by Sophie Bloemen and Thomas de Groot. Commons Network, 2019 [https://www.commonsnetwork.org/ourcommons/], see: [[Commons-Based Political Ideas for a New Europe]]

* Social Circularity: Food-sharing Platforms Are Re-inventing Urban Solidarity. by Thomas de Groot



[[Category:Agrifood]]

[[Category:Spain]]