1. General information
Location and description of the intervention
City or FUA
Utrecht
Region
Europe
Native title of the NBS intervention
Food for Good
Short description of the intervention
Food for Good is a community garden in which citizens and disadvantaged groups work together to grow healthy crops in a sustainable way (ref. 1,5,6,7). Thereby, it promotes social cohesion in the neighbourhood and sustainable agriculture. It also contributes to social equity as crops are grown for the food bank which provides food for homeless and low-income citizens. Food is also sold to local people and a 'social' restaurant (ref, 5-7).
Address

Vreugdenhillaan
48
Utrecht
Netherlands

Location
Point location, which indicates where the NBS takes place
Type of area before implementation of the NBS
Public Greenspace Area
Website of the intervention
http://www.foodforgood.nl
Timeline of intervention
Start date of the intervention (planning process)
unknown
Start date of intervention (implementation process)
2013
End date of the intervention
ongoing
Present stage of the intervention
Ongoing
Goals of the intervention
The main goal is to create sustainable integration of citizens, which includes:
- Social cohesion as citizens and vulnerable groups including homeless people, addicts and people with psychiatric disorders work together and crops are grown for a community restaurant that supports social inclusion (ref. 6)
- Sustainable agriculture as the principles of organic agriculture are applied, for example, plant species are planted that attract insects that protect the crops from invasive plant and animal species (ref. 4)
- Education by means of trainings, workshops and tours through the garden (ref. 1)
- It also indirectly supports human health and well being as healthy crops are grown (ref. 7)
Quantitative targets
Unknown
Monitoring indicators defined
Unknown
Sustainability challenge(s) addressed
Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
Green space creation and/or management
Regeneration, land-use and urban development
Promote natural styles of landscape design for urban development
Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
Environmental education
Social justice and equity
Social cohesion
Social interaction
Health and well-being (SDG 3)
Improving mental health
Improving physical health
Creation of opportunities for recreation
Sustainable consumption and production (SDG 12)
Sustainable consumption
Sustainable production
Implementation activities
Growing sustainable crops
Providing training, workshops and tours
Organizing events, special events for disadvantaged groups
Renting the garden house for activities
Selling harvest to local people and the restaurant and donating food to the food bank
(ref. 1, 4)
Type of NBS project
Creation of new green areas
Knowledge creation and awareness raising
NBS domain and interventions
Ecological domain(s) where the NBS intervention(s) is/are implemented
Community gardens and allotments
Community gardens
Please specify the number of plots or allotment gardens
Unknown
Vegetation Type
Flower beds
Garden beds
Other
Amenities offered by the NBS
Unknown
Please specify "other marginalized group"
Vulnerable target groups - including homeless people, addicts and people with psychiatric disorders (ref. 1)
Services
Expected ecosystem services delivered
Provisioning services
Food for human consumption (crops, vegetables)
Medicinal resources
Habitat and supporting services
Habitats for species
Maintenance of genetic diversity
Cultural services
Recreation
Mental and physical health and wellbeing
Intellectual interactions (scientific and / or educational)
Social and community interactions
Scale
Spatial scale
Micro-scale: District/neighbourhood level
Beneficiaries
Primary Beneficiaries
Citizens or community groups
Marginalized groups
Marginalized groups
Socio-economically disadvantaged populations (e.g. low-income households, unemployed)
Other
Governance
Governance arrangements
Led by non-government actors
Non-government actors
Public sector institution (e.g. school or hospital)
Non-governmental organisation (NGO) / Civil society / Churches
Citizens or community groups
Coalition with multiple of the above
Please specify the roles of the specific government and non-government actor groups involved in the initiative
The project was initiated by a health care facility (Zorgbrug) and an NGO (Stichting De Wending). Partners in the project are health care institutions (Vecht en Ijssel, Axion Continu), an NGO (Doenja Dienstverlening), a community team, a restaurant (Resto Van Harte), the food bank, a restaurant, citizens and the municipality of Utrecht (ref. 1, 2, 3).
Key actors - initiating organization
Public sector institution
Non-government organisation/civil society
Land owners
No information found
Key actors - Other stakeholders involved (besides initiating actors)
Local government/municipality
Public sector institution
Non-government organisation/civil society
Private sector/corporate actor/company
Citizens or community group
Land owners
No information found
Participatory methods/forms of community involvement used
Co-planning (e.g. stakeholder workshops, focus groups, participatory mapping)
Crowd-sourcing/Crowd-funding/Participatory budget
Dissemination of information and education
Consultation (e.g. workshop, surveys, community meetings, town halls)
Joint implementation (e.g. tree planting)
Co-management/Joint management
Policy drivers
NBS intervention implemented in response to an Regional Directive/Strategy
Unknown
NBS intervention implemented in response to a national regulations/strategy/plan
Unknown
NBS intervention implemented in response to a local regulation/strategy/plan
Unknown
Mandatory or voluntary intervention
Voluntary (spontaneous)
Please specify other type of voluntary intervention
The initiative was the result of low social cohesion in the area and unused space in a park in Utrecht (Park Transwijk) [1]
Enablers
Presence of specific city-level GI/NBS vision/strategy/plan - mentioned in connection to the project
Unknown
Presence of specific city-level GI/NBS section/part in a more general plan - mentioned in connection to the project
Unknown
Please specify other vegetation type
Herbs, vegetables (ref. 1)
Presence of city network or regional partnerships focused on NBS - mentioned in connection to the project
Yes
Please specify
The municipality of Utrecht in their platform 'Makelpunt Utrecht' they connect space owners and initiatives such as the current in order to facilitate inspiring projects that improve the attractiveness of the city [8]
Presence of GI / NBS research project - mentioned in connection to the project
Unknown
Subsidies/investment for GI / NBS in the city - mentioned in connection to the project
Yes
Please specify
Funding comes from a large variety of sources including civil society organizations/NGOs: (Stichting doen, Kansfonds Geven om een Ander, Stichting HSHB, Stichting Brentano's kfHein Fonds, VSB Fonds, Groen Dichterbij, NutsOhra Fund, Pasman Stichting, Stichting R.C. Maagdenhuis), private funds (Fonds Sluiyterman), the municipality of Utrecht and a church (RDO Balije van Utrecht) [1,3].
Co-finance for NBS
Yes
Co-financing governance arrangements
Unknown
Was this co-governance arrangement already in place, or was it set up specifically for this NBS?
Unknown
Financing
Total cost
Unknown
What is/was the Cost/Budget (EUR) of the NBS or green infrastructure elements?
Unknown
What are the total amount of expected annual maintenance costs?
Unknown
What is the expected annual maintenance costs of the NBS or GI elements?
Unknown
Please specify cost savings
Unknown
Please specify total cost (EUR)
Unknown
Source(s) of funding
Public local authority budget
Funds provided by non-governmental organization (NGO)
Private Foundation/Trust
Other
Please specify other source of funding
The local church provides funding.
Product sales at the garden and restaurant Van Harte
Money derived from the garden house that is open for rent an in which it is possible to host meetings, lunch and dinner (ref. 1)
Type of fund(s) used
Direct funding (grants, subsidies, or self-financed projects by private entities)
Donations
Non-financial contribution
Yes
Type of non-financial contribution
Provision of land
Provision of labour
Who provided the non-financial contribution?
Public authorities (e.g. land, utility services)
Citizens (e.g. volunteering)
Business models
Local stewardship model
Green health model
Which of the involved actors was motivated by this model?
Public actor (e.g. municipality)
Private non-for-profit actor (e.g. NGO, foundation)
Citizens / local communities
Type of innovation
Social
Economic innovation
Cultural innovation
Please specify social innovation
The Food for Good initiative can be considerd an social-economic as well as a cultural innovation as the community garden not only allows for daily activity for disadvantaged groups, the food goes partly to the Food Bank which provides food for other disadvantaged groups and to the restaurant Van Harte that also provides opportunities for disadvantaged groups in society. [1-3]
Novelty level of the innovation
The innovation is completely new without connections to previous initiative(s)
Please specify novelty level of the innovation
The project is considered innovative as social cohesion, social equity, sustainable agriculture and education are combined in an integrated approach that provides multiple benefits. This is shown by the fact the initiative won two prizes: Food Award (2016) in the category 'social' and the Rabo Stadslandbouwaward (Urban Agriculture Award of Rabobank) in 2015. Thereby, it is an example of a community garden which may inspire other cities. [1,6]
Replicability/Transferability
Ambiguous (e.g. multiple interpretations)
Please specify Replicability/Transferability
A similar project was found in Amsterdam, where crops were also provided to the food bank although it is unclear whether this intervention was inspired by the Utrecht intervention [6]
Impacts, benefits
Environmental impacts
Green space and habitat
Promotion of naturalistic styles of landscape design for urban development
Increased green space area
Increased number of species present
Description of environmental benefits
The community garden can be viewed as providing green space and positively contributes to environmental quality (ref. 1)
The project is expected to have positive impacts related to sustainable agriculture production, as the principles of organic agriculture are applied, for example, plant species are planted that attract insects that protect the crops from invasive plant and animal species (ref. 4)
Economic impacts
Increase in agricultural production (for profit or not)
Description of economic benefits
In this garden vegetables, fruit and herbs are grown with residents and people from a vulnerable target group. Part of the harvest goes to everyone who helps (ref. 1).
Social and cultural impacts
Social justice and cohesion
Improved social cohesion
Improved access to urban green space
Increased visibility and opportunity for marginalised groups or indigenous peoples
Increased opportunities for social interaction
Increased access to healthy/affordable food
Increased sustainability of agriculture practices
Health and wellbeing
Improved physical health
Improved mental health
Gain in activities for recreation and exercise
Education
Increased support for education and scientific research
Increased knowledge of locals about local nature
Description of social and cultural benefits
The project focus on addressing social cohesion issues, as citizens and vulnerable groups including homeless people, addicts and people with psychiatric disorders work together and crops are grown for a community restaurant that supports social inclusion (ref. 6)
As part of the NBS, training, workshops and tours through the garden are regularly organised (ref. 1)
The project is also expected to indirectly support human health and well being as healthy crops are grown (ref. 7), and for people with memory problems, the activity takes place at a different time (ref. 3)
- The vegetable garden is a place for experience (discovering and enjoying what grows and flowers), meeting and, where possible, participating in activities in the green (for example in the raised vegetable boxes) (ref. 3)
- Neighbors from all walks of life come together here and lend a hand on the land, in the teahouse, in the organization and activity supervision (ref. 8)
-As healthy food is produced in a sustainable way, Food for Good contributes to health and wellbeing and sustainable production and consumption. [1]
Type of reported impacts
Expected impacts
Indicators
Unknown
Environmental, social and economic impacts
Environmental quality
Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
Health and well-being (SDG 3)
Regeneration, land-use and urban development
Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
Sustainable consumption and production (SDG 12)
Analysis of specific impact categories
Job creation: The NBS created ...
Voluntary work opportunities
Environmental justice: The implementation of the NBS project resulted in ...
Positive distribution of NBS benefits
Improved access to green and/or blue spaces
Increased access to healthy food for humans and/or animals
Negative impacts: Did the project cause any problems or concerns?
No information was found regarding negative impacts of the project
COVID-19 pandemic
The main website of the project says that the garden is open for the public at different time slots (https://www.foodforgood.nl/agenda) - information collection on 27 July 2020.
Methods of impact monitoring
Process of recording NBS impacts
No evidence in public records
Methods used to evaluate the impacts of NBS
Unknown
Evidence for use of assessment
Presence of an assessment, evaluation and/or monitoring process
Unknown
Presence of indicators used in reporting
No evidence in public records
Presence of monitoring/evaluation reports
No evidence in public records
Availability of a web-based monitoring tool
No evidence in public records
Impact assessment mechanism
Name of any specific impact assessment tools
unknown
Use of GIS in mapping impacts
No evidence in public records
Citizen involvement
Citizens involvement in assessment/evaluation
Unknown
Citizens involvement in the analysis of the assessment/evaluation
Unknown
Follow-up to the evaluation / assessment
Unknown
References
Web links relevant to the intervention
Food for Good website
Youtube video of the NBS
List of references
1. Food for Good. (n.d.). Food for Good. [online] Available at: http://www.foodforgood.nl/ (Accessed 26 July 2020)
2. Roos, E. & De Gier, M. Welkom! (n.d.). Op food for good. Utrecht: Food for Good [pdf] Available at: http://www.foodforgood.nl/ (Accessed 26 July 2020)
3. Food for Good. (n.d.). in ‘t groen bij moestijn food for good. [pdf] Utrecht: Food for Good. Available at: http://www.foodforgood.nl/files/FFG_senioren_Flyer_04.pdf (Accessed 26 July 2020)
4. U in de wijk Kanaleneiland. (2013a). Food for Good [video] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYwYCXCeBfo (Accessed 26 July 2020)
5. U in de wijk Kanaleneiland. (2013b). Food for Good [video] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_23l05JAQw (Accessed 26 July 2020)
6. Instituut voor Natuureducatie en duuraamheid. (n.d.) Filmpjes van projecten. Available at: www.ivn.nl (Accessed 26 July 2020)
7. Gemeente Utrecht. (n.d.) Makelpunt Utrecht. [online] Available at: https://www.makelpunt-utrecht.nl/ (Accessed 26 July 2020)
8. VOKO. (n.d.). Food for Good. Available at: https://vokoutrecht.nl/productors/food-for-good/ (Accessed 26 July 2020)
Additional comments
Food for Good won the Food Award Utrecht in 2016 in the category 'social'
Comments and notes
Pictures of the NBS
/sites/default/files/nbs/images/food_for_good.jpg
/sites/default/files/nbs/images/food_for_good_2.jpg
Public Images
Food for Good
Food for Good
Source: Ref. 1
Food for Good
Food for Good
Source: Ref. 1
Food for Good
Food for Good
Source: Ref. 1