Founded in 2011, the Farm2Food foundation is an educational non-profit that works in over 446 government schools in Assam. The foundation collaborates with schools to set up food gardens which serve as sites of learning. Here, children learn practical knowledge about cultivation, nutrition, and ecological concepts such as biodiversity. Village elders also often contribute their vast experience of traditional practices and parents can also come to offer voluntary labour to assist the children. The produce grown in the garden is used to make lunches for the children.
The foundation also runs several other programmes aimed at fostering the next generation of ecologically-minded community leaders. During the pandemic, Farm2Food has also conducted relief work to help particularly vulnerable households get through the pandemic without having to resort to extreme measures such as child trafficking. The foundation collaborates closely with community leaders, school teachers, panchayat leaders, and ASHA and ANM workers to conduct appropriate relief work. Central to their strategy was spending time with the families themselves, sharing information about the virus and remaining close to vulnerable people in these families (women and children). The foundation, having a close relationship with a network of farms, was also able to provide fresh produce to many families in need of material relief.
Farm2Food Foundation acknowledges and promotes the value of practical knowledge based on farming, food, and nutrition. It a way to equip young people with the necessary schools to achieve sovereignty and self-sufficiency later in life. By creating spaces for children and adolescents to learn and explore, it helps them develop agency and will help them feel ready for any future challenges.
Find out more: https://farm2food.org