Sustainable food communities

One of our city's most important goals is to create a healthy, safe environment for our residents, including a healthy food supply by strengthening urban-rural links and creating an ecologically and economically viable operating model.
We are interested in trying out best practices, transparent, sustainable and new solutions, local regulatory examples, developed in cooperation with settlements, farms, local farmers around the city.
Our urban area has a strong tradition of horticulture and higher education in agriculture. Our agro-ecological potential is remarkable due to our geographical location in the Hungarian Plain (Lowland), but at the same time, we are extremely exposed to the adverse effects of climate change both within the city and in the surrounding landscape.
We would like to identify gaps in the market, products that can be channelled, and possibly set up a rating system. Furthermore, we would like to explore possible ways to improve public catering, based on data analysis, such as consumption patterns and food waste analysis.
We want to ensure a link between stakeholders, especially producers and consumers in order to bring supply and demand needs closer. Thereby we possibly can find more coordinated solutions and promote climate adaptation and sustainable management.
In addition to digital expertise, we also have access to the national and international experiences of our national expert company (https://agrikulti.hu/), in the field of sustainable urban-rural links and adaptive food systems.
As a point of reference, our municipality started the implementation of the INTERREG Central Europe Slowfood project on 01 June 2017, which lasted for 36 months. The project aim of the municipality was to promote the gastronomic and cultural heritage of the Kecskemét region, including the value of products produced by local producers in a natural and traditional way, respecting the environment, and to promote and educate consumers about the spirit of the project.