Stronger urban communities through food and farming
We support collaborative urban food gardens, social farms, agri-food hubs and markets to build socially, ecologically and economically resilient communities in cities.
Latest News
- Intern’s insights from inside Food Dialogues 2022Food Dialogues 2022 intern, Arti Patel, a 3rd year university student from UCLA, shares her experience and insights from being in Cape Town and playing a key role in making this year’s event programme successful.
- Western Cape Food Forum Spotlight on SAUFF TrustThe Western Cape Food Forum, convened by the Western Cape Economic Development Partnership, comprises around 70 organisations and close to 400 individuals, with interest in shifting towards local production forContinue reading “Western Cape Food Forum Spotlight on SAUFF Trust”
- Laying the Table for a Better Food SystemHow are digital technologies disrupting our food system? What will be the impact of cultured meat? How has food shaped the spaces and places that define our city? These and other questions will be explored in Cape Town during the two-week 2022 Food Dialogues programme through a range of experiences: from expert panel discussions to hands-on cooking classes for grown-ups and kids, walking tours, communal meals and art installations, from Monday 18 July until Monday 1 August.
The 2022 Food Dialogues, taking place from 18 July to 1 August, will consider the post-pandemic “new normal” by looking at key aspects of our food system – where we buy our food from, and how nourished we are from the food we eat – as well as how we can better partner to govern our food system and how the medium of food itself can bring us insight and connection.
There will also be an arts exhibition and guided walking tours offering diverse and readily accessible ways to engage with the food system, opportunities to eat and to learn to cook, and volunteer opportunities to lend a hand in vulnerable and under-resourced communities who are working hard to address food insecurity.
The programme will take place across Cape Town in Philippi, Mowbray and at the V&A Waterfront, as well as virtually.
Selected Projects
Oranjezicht City Farm and Market Day
Established in 2012, this well-known community food garden on a heritage site on the slopes of Table Mountain is a site for education and innovation. It also gave rise to the city’s leading farmer’s market, supporting over 40 local smallholder farms and 60 artisanal food traders. [more…]
Environmental Entrepreneur Support Initiative
We mentor young leaders of exceptional ability who are already realising outcomes that advance environmental sustainability through work in the food system. EESI is funded by the Global Risk Governance Programme at the University of Cape Town. [more…]
Design Principles for Impactful Urban Farms
Derived from research and experience, our set of 15 principles help inform social agriculture projects in any urban context to strengthen their beneficial impacts within their community, while providing a way to link and build solidarity with other farms across time, space, geography and culture. [more…]
Langa Community Agri/Food Hub
Linking existing urban farmers and supporting their work with infrastructure and services will build community-scale resilience to shocks and stresses that worsen food and nutrition insecurity. This pilot in Langa will bring capital investment, operational mentorship and network facilitation, working in partnership with a local non-profit foundation. [more…]
“Seeding good trouble…”
The SA Urban Food & Farming Trust was profiled in the 2020 Innovation Report, published by the International Civil Society Centre. The Report collects and shares the most “inspiring and interesting” examples of promising innovations that can be applied to tackle common contemporary challenges. Read the case study and listen to the podcast interview.
Perspectives
“During COVID farmers couldn’t get to their markets, to their fields. Being able to draw on [the Trust’s] urban farming networks to sensitize us to what was really happening out there made a really big difference. We found ways in the City of doing things differently.”
Tamsin Faragher, Principle Resilience Officer, City of Cape Town
“The collaboration between so many different stakeholders makes [the SA Urban Food & Farming Trust] very interesting to our network and we think there are really innovative approaches and lessons that will benefit other cities around the globe.”
Christina Teichmann, Konrad Adenauer Foundation, Strong Cities 2030 network coordinator
“The Trust helped us to establish our market garden. When we started there was nothing…they were supporting us, coming to look, buying vegetables, sending compost, and bringing volunteers. Even now they are organising market access for us.”
Toni Khulule, Production Manager, Spring Foundation, Lentegeur Market Garden
SA Urban Food & Farming Trust 