SDG 2 in The Hague

Food Supply in The Hague

The municipality of The Hague has articulated its plans in food strategy (H)eerlijk Haags. Example of those plans are buying produce in accordance with Fairtrade and increasing the vegetarian offering in the municipal canteen. The municipality also provides about 2000 households with low incomes with food supply via  Voedselbank Haaglanden (The Hague Food Bank). Another initiative is De Haagse Soepbus (The Hague Soup Bus) which is available for all citizens of The Hague who do not have access to regular food distribution. The volunteer-run organization gives attention, coffee, and soup to those in need.

The municipality also subsidizes plans for sustainable food and provides advice to makers through the digital counter for Urban Agriculture in The Hague. In addition, there are urban farms and large school gardens to educate residents about their food origins.

Collaborations for Better, More Sustainable Food With Less Waste

With support from the municipality, several organizations and residents work together on social and sustainable food supply. Some of these are:

Conscious Kitchen, which promotes community and conscious living by creating awareness about food waste. You can simply join for dinners at Conscious Kitchen, and even take home food that would be wasted otherwise;

ImpactCity, in which the municipality helps entrepreneurs in sustainable businesses. They also often organize events (e.g.: ImpactFest) in which startups, investors, and other impact makers come together;

The Food Waste City Challenge, which has made hotels waste less food by buying, storing, and preparing it cleverly. In the past, it has reduced food waste by 40%;

Greenport West Holland works on creating a more sustainable and economic future for regional horticulture with both national and international impact;

Het Eetbare Park creates locations where residents can realize practical examples of a sustainable society and learn a lot about food, energy, raw materials and waste;

These are just a few examples of the collaborations, with more waiting to be created. The 17 SDGs are co-dependent and require action across the board. Urban Agriculture initiatives go beyond just SDG 2 and address SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-Being), SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities), SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), and SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production). Involving local citizens to collaborate within their neighbourhoods can improve living conditions, make the city more sustainable, strengthen social cohesion, and empower individuals. 

How Citizens Can Make an Impact

But you don’t need to have a collaboration or an organization to start making an impact. By joining some of the activities in the collaborations mentioned (for example, donating to the Voedselbank, volunteering at Conscious Kitchen or at Het Eetbare Park) and even adding small tweaks to your daily life can create a big change. Something you can do to help our work towards this goal is creating a shopping list before going to get groceries, as this prevents you from buying too much food (and save some money). Double-check your pantry, refrigerator, and freeze before making your list, this way you know exactly what you need to buy and which food to eat first before it goes bad, and you can even extend the life-cycle of your food by fermenting, dehydrating, or pickling it. And the most important of all, stay curious and continue learning about our world and its needs.

With everyone joining in, from organizations to individuals, we can achieve our goals and create a better world!