The primary goal of the project was to introduce young people (YP) to UA and motivate them to take an active role in creating and maintaining vegetable gardens. UA served as a tool to foster sustainable, resilient, food-secure, and inclusive urban communities. More specifically, the project intended to: Inspire YP to adopt sustainable habits and ways of living Promote UA and agricultural literacy as a means to improve food security and environmental protection Provide support for urban communities Make agriculture more appealing to urban youth Empower YP to become advocates for organic food production Build collaboration among civil society organisations and a variety of stakeholders Equip youth workers (YW) with modern agricultural and environmental skills Encourage the intergenerational sharing of agricultural knowledge Challenge and overturn negative stereotypes about farming as a profession Bring farmers and academics together to jointly involve more youth in agricultural initiatives Support YP in cultivating initiative and responsibility Develop a network of YP, YW, and professionals who understand food security Promote YP’s mental health and resilience through their involvement in UA practices Introduce YP to local food
The FOOD-4-THOUGHT idea came to life as a result of the actual crisis which we are currently facing, in terms of environment and climate change, more specifically related to food insecurity. Our project wanted to provide young people with more tools, skills and most importantly, knowledge on urban agriculture (UA) and how effective it can be in combating climate crises, food insecurity (exacerbated by the Russian invasion in Ukraine) and improve sustainability. Our initiative focused on the following needs: a) Building more resilient food systems b) Reducing food waste c) Increasing youth participation in agriculture d) Enhancing urban resilience and food self-sufficiency e) Promoting urban agriculture to help young people overcome economic and mental health challenges worsened by the pandemic and ongoing food crises f) Addressing climate change anxiety, prevalent among youth globally by engaging them in agricultural activities that positively impact mental health. g) Equipping youth workers with updated skills, knowledge, and methodologies related to urban agriculture and food security, enabling them to better support young people in addressing modern social challenges.