Context

What do city dwellers eat? What are their favorite dishes? What is their relationship with food? What are their daily diets? What do they consider "party food"? How often do they eat vegetables and meat? How do they buy their food? What are their needs, desires and wishes in terms of sustainable food?

What do people from diverse backgrounds eat in their host countries? What are their eating habits? What links do they have with their countries of origin in terms of food? How do they obtain supplies? Can food be a factor for integration and social cohesion? Are there business ideas and opportunities to be seized in this field? How can we support people with ideas and projects?

In short, how do local food systems work in neighborhoods?

Our collectives

The Collectif B.R.E.A.D was launched as a collective of reflection and action working for equity in food systems. It is a network of activists specializing in food equity, and a center for research, projects and the dissemination of knowledge to the general public, governments and the United Nations.

Its aim is to empower people to transform their food systems.

A free initiative, ZION KICK-UP STARTUPS (ZKS ) is a platform of the African diaspora that supports entrepreneurs in their projects, so that they can become real players in development both in their country of residence (Switzerland in particular) and in their country of origin.

ZKS activities and projects aim to promote :

    • Better integration of Africans in Switzerland: awareness-raising, training, social cohesion, valorization,
    • Entrepreneurship: promotion, support, coaching, training ;
    • Economic development: creating jobs, reducing unemployment.

Description

The " Nourrir la diversité, Feeding the diversity, Alimentando la diversidad " project is based on three complementary approaches:

    • Sharing knowledge and best practices among local residents regarding their eating habits and procurement methods,
    • Support for the formulation of questions, needs, desires and wishes relating to the local food system, using participatory methodologies, which we can then relay to decision-makers,
    • The idea that the results of participatory methodologies will feed the projects of entrepreneurs, including those from diverse backgrounds.

Cities and towns tend to be cosmopolitan places, with many different nationalities living in them. Our collectives want to celebrate international food cultures, while supporting residents in their reflections on local, sustainable, healthy and seasonal food. We also want to identify the men and women behind food projects, with a view to providing them with appropriate and timely support. This will undoubtedly contribute to greater inclusion for all, and thus to the development and maintenance of a strong, sustainable local economy.

Methodology

We are committed to using participatory action research methods such as digital storytelling and mapping, working with communities to present their own voices and stories. We will also prepare participatory workshops to bring out the needs, desires and wishes of residents in each city neighborhood. Zoning is envisaged where necessary.

To achieve this, the Nourrir La Diversité project is based on three complementary approaches:

  • Sharing knowledge and best practices of local residents regarding their eating habits and sourcing methods through interviews and publications on a website and dedicated pages and groups on social networks;
    • Supporting the formulation of questions, needs, desires and wishes related to the local food system using participatory methodologies, which we can then relay to decision-makers at various levels;
    • The idea is that the results of participatory methodologies will also feed the projects of entrepreneurs from diasporas, in Switzerland and abroad.

In concrete terms, with the support of the cities, we plan to :

    • Visit each neighbourhood to identify the most important places in the local food system and talk to socio-cultural organizers/local associations.
    • Create and lead discussion groups on the Internet and social networks on the theme of accessibility to sustainable food;
    • In-depth documentation of local eating habits
    • Present and make available the results and data collected on a website and dedicated pages/groups on social networks;

Depending on the dynamics underway or not in the various neighborhoods, either join in with events already planned for the general public, or set up and organize participatory workshops with local players, and feed back the results to the participants.