The walk in 2023. Photo Walk4Hunger Text Coretta Jongeling
In the coming month, the student initiative Walk4hunger will be organizing various events dealing with the future of food. There will be a talk and a hike aimed at encouraging people to reflect on the issue, but above all take practical measures to make food provision more sustainable.
Walk4Hunger started last year as a walk to bring people together who are involved in food and sustainability in some way or other. This year, several events are planned, with the walk as the closing event.
But that is not the end of the project, emphasize Sophia Khosravi (Nutrition and Health Master’s student) and Itske van den Braak (Environmental Sciences Master’s student), both on the Walk4Hunger committee. As Khosravi explains, ‘Often by the end of a meeting about sustainability you are enthusiastic about the topic, but one day later other things demand your attention and you start to forget about it. We want to prevent that from happening by meeting up more often.’
Small steps
Walk4Hunger wants to form a community that works on food and sustainability all year round. ‘The topic of Future Food Systems is so big that it can feel overwhelming,’ says Van den Braak. ‘But every action counts, however small. For example, you can make an undertaking to eat more seasonal vegetables or more vegetables that have been grown locally. In our community we want to discuss such things together and encourage one another, but also swap experiences — how did it go for you?’
Every action counts, however small
Itske van den Braak, Environmental Sciences Master’s student
There will be two speakers giving talks on Wednesday, 29 May. Jaco Smit of Village of Peace will explain how this NGO helps vulnerable people in Afghanistan to achieve food security and Farming Systems Ecology lecturer Kees van Veluw will talk about permaculture in the Netherlands. The walk will be on 6 June and will be followed by a dinner with local products. The money raised from the events will go to Village of Peace.
Khosravi emphasizes that the events are not just for students. ‘There are many facets to sustainable food production and it is really valuable to consider the issue from various angles. So everyone is welcome — students, teachers, Wageningen residents and so on.’
You can find more information about Walk4Hunger on their Instagram page. Click here to register for the walk (3 euros) or the talks (free).
