On 8 April, Duurzaam Utrecht 2030, AERES Hogeschool and Stichting DenkLAS organised a workshop on Organic food with a small budget in the Social Impact Factory aan de Gracht in Utrecht. Students of Liberal Arts & Sciences from DenkLAS  led the workshop, with 23 participants. After a plenary presentation round, the students interviewed participants in the form of a stand-up game (see presentation) about their experiences and opinions on sustainability and organic food.

The participants then brainstormed in three groups, during two rounds. The first round focused on divergence, based on suggestions and questions from the draft roadmap circulated in advance. In the second round, the participants converged their suggestions into concrete recommendations, distinguishing the roles of citizens (and businesses), municipalities and the national government.  In the end, representatives from the three groups pitched their recommendations, and the participants exchanged contact information for follow-up appointments. Group 1 proposed some solutions for providing affordable organic groceries, emphasizing the importance of stakeholder engagement and practical strategies such as Community Supported Agriculture. Group 2 proposed various ideas and initiatives to encourage and facilitate participation in vegetable gardening, distinguishing private gardens, community gardens and allotments. Group 3 proposed practical opportunities overcoming barriers to sustainable and healthy cooking with a tight budget and little time, and shared practical experiences with eating clubs, cooking classes and recipe sharing. Download the full report here.