The WFF Launches Dutch Chapter with “FoodCycle” event
The World Food Forum (WFF) is thrilled to announce the launch of its first local chapter in the Netherlands! Established by Dutch WFF Youth Champion Lisanne van Oosterhoud and i4Nature, this decentralized chapter is piloting the localization of the WFF to target specific issues and mobilize local actions that can help transform agrifood systems.
On World Cycling Day, 3 June 2022, the WFF Dutch Chapter hit the ground biking, with its very first event, “Food Cycle”. The event was co-organized by Wereldwinkel Zoetermeer, Green Impact Network and the European Climate Pact. It helped connect producers and consumers through the beauty and health of cycling, with participants following different cycling routes and stopping at various food supply chain points along the way.
About the Food Cycle event
The main route of Food Cycle was “ChocoCycle,” which followed the path of fair-trade cocoa beans in the Netherlands from where they arrive via sailing ships at the Amsterdam port, to where they are processed in a climate friendly factory covered by solar panels and finally to the different fair-trade shops where they are sold. These cocoa beans come from biological cocoa farms with decent working conditions and fair wages in Peru, Colombia, Congo and the Dominican Republic.
Along the ChocoCycle route, participants carried around 13 kilos of chocolate over 80km from Amsterdam to Zoetermeer, while also enjoying great weather and beautiful views over the farming fields. The young participants in the Food Cycle event were thus able to combine their love for cycling with promoting sustainable change. “If I can help make the world a little more sustainable while doing what I enjoy, like cycling, then I will be there!” said one of the enthusiastic cyclists.
Missed this route? The second Food Cycle event will take place on 1 October 2022, in partnership with Schokofahrt in Germany where this initiative began. Reach out to us if you would like to join the ride by emailing [email protected]. You can learn more about ChocoCycle and future routes and activities on the WFF NL Website.
Would you like to contribute to a route or to be a bike guide? Sign up here!
About the WFF local chapters
The launch of the Dutch WFF chapter marks a huge stride forward in the global youth movement to sustainably transform our agrifood systems. The WFF will continue to expand with regional and national chapters that will both support and feed into the work of the Global WFF, while also better incorporating and addressing local agrifood systems challenges. These national and regional initiatives will foster tailored and effective solutions, spark local action, and create collaborative spaces for young people, youth allies and youth organizations.
Local chapters are independently organized and will be hosting different types of events throughout the year in the lead-up to October, when they will present the outcomes of their local initiatives at the WFF Global flagship event.
