Collective of 400 farmers turns Zuidas upside down

On Thursday, October 27, a special collective of food producers and buyers presented themselves to each other in CIRCL at Gustav Mahlerplein. The central theme: the shortest path between farmer and catering company for healthy, fair and sustainable products for employees at the Zuidas.

The business community Hello Zuidas, the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, Amped and Local2Local organised a moment of inspiration and tasting at CIRCL Eventspace at Gustav Mahlerplein for the launch of a sustainable regional food system in Amsterdam’s business district ‘Zuidas’, in conjunction with making catering logistics more sustainable as part of the Van A tot Zuidas mobility programme, and the launch of our reversed marketplace Let’s Get Local.

“Over the past few months, the City of Amsterdam, Hello Zuidas, Hogeschool van Amsterdam, Rabobank and Local2Local have worked to prepare for a robust food chain around the Zuidas. This has become possible through the unique collaboration between the progressive farmer collectives Boeren van Amstel, Groene Hart Coöperatie, Proevkantoor, Flevofood and Local2Local. This special and growing offer is simply available for business customers on local2local.nl. You practically can’t leave town without passing one of our farmers, so all those expensive and unsustainable middlemen are completely unnecessary,” Mark Frederiks of Local2Local outlines. Frederiks has been working for years to make local food accessible and cooperation between farmer collectives.

Olivier Otten, director of Hello Zuidas: “Participation is very simple. Companies can order online and get fresh and local products delivered twice a week. The Co2 footprint is lower and the environmental impact upon delivery is minimal by bundling the logistics of the various short-chain flows around the city. Of course, the deliveries are 100% electric.”

For this initiative, the farmer collectives are working together with Hello Zuidas, Municipality of Amsterdam, Impact Hub and Hogeschool van Amsterdam, creating an ambitious and business-like network of hospitality, caterers and entrepreneurs.

Growth of regional food from 3.4% to 25%
Sustainable impact is central to this collaboration, economically, ecologically and socially.

Erik Koldenhof, Programme Manager Food Strategy of the Municipality of Amsterdam: “This collective has joined the ambition of the Municipality of Amsterdam to have 25% of the food consumed come from the region by 2030. This offers producers an economic incentive to invest in sustainable cultivation, Co2 storage, biodiversity and birdlife stimulation. Buyers and their customers, visitors and employees benefit from a more conscious, local and tasty offer.”

The consumer back in power
Mark Frederiks: “We are also shifting gears today. Current agricultural production in the region is largely export-oriented. To reach the 25% target, we believe we need to make production dependent on demand, link it directly to the needs of the Amsterdammer, who prefers to eat local food and thus invest in his immediate environment.

To make this happen, we are launching the letsgetlocal.nl reserved marketplace. On this platform, a farmer can easily register a product or cultivation wish. Companies and consumers make this wish a reality by making a purchase for the future. A product is created with only winners. The customer gets the best product and the farmer the opportunity to diversify and become more sustainable.”

You can participate right away by placing an order or contributing through our reverse marketplace at www.letsgetlocal.nl!”

• Make Mokum Supersap possible and place a pre-order;
• Contribute to the development of vegetable lemonade made from wild carrots;
• Contribute to the feasibility study for Amstelland’s sportiest curd!
• Above all, call on others to join too!

Follow-up
A follow-up meeting with all participating parties and partners will take place in the first week of December, and this is also a great opportunity for organisations and companies to join as well.

Special thanks to:
Boeren van Amstel | ProeVkantoor | Groene Hart Coöperatie | Vereniging Flevofood | Local2Local | Grounded | Amped | Eurest | Gorillas | Gemeente Amsterdam | Hello Zuidas | Hogeschool van Amsterdam | Impact Hub Amsterdam | CIRCL | Taskforce Korte Keten | Provincie Noord-Holland | Provincie Flevoland | EIT Climate-KIC | TU Eindhoven | FoodLogica | Instock | Wij.land | Dm00 | Stelling van Amsterdam | Dapper Texel | Yes and More