Food as a Gateway to Sustainability
Based in Passignano sul Trasimeno in Umbria, Associazione Kora has developed a suite of four food-based non-formal learning activities designed to engage young adults with sustainability through one of the most universal human experiences: eating and cooking together. The activities are participatory, hands-on, and deliberately designed to connect individual choices with broader systemic questions about how we produce, consume, and waste food.
Each activity generally involves 28 or more participants, and while rooted in Italy, they carry a strong international and multicultural dimension, particularly through the involvement of participants from different countries who bring their own ingredients, tastes, and food traditions.
Four Activities, One Vision
Cooking on a Budget challenges participants to create a complete meal for just €2 per person, balancing sustainability, cost, and flavour. Divided into groups, they must negotiate, collaborate, and make real choices about what to buy and how to use it — all within a meaningful economic constraint. The experience makes sustainability immediately practical and personal.
The Jeopardy: Food and Sustainability Quiz creates a shared baseline of knowledge through playful competition. Teams answer questions about food systems, nutrition, and environmental impact — establishing common ground and sparking curiosity that sets the stage for deeper discussions. The format is deliberately light-hearted, lowering barriers to engagement.
Leftovers Cooking is perhaps the most direct response to one of the most pressing issues in sustainable food systems: waste. Participants are given leftover ingredients from previous days and challenged to create new, delicious dishes. Creativity, flexibility, and respect for resources are all exercised simultaneously.
Speed Tasting is a sensory journey: blindfolded participants taste exotic ingredients brought by fellow participants from their own home countries, discovering new flavours, sharing stories, and building intercultural connections. It is simultaneously a celebration of food diversity and a reflection on globalisation, identity, and the richness of different food cultures.
Reflection as a Learning Tool
After each activity, a structured debrief invites participants to reflect on what they learned, how they worked together, and what could be improved. This commitment to reflective practice is one of the hallmarks of Kora’s educational approach — ensuring that the experience translates into genuine learning rather than simply a pleasant activity.
Relevance for Sustainable Learning
Kora’s activities connect to SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 4 (Quality Education), and SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production). By making sustainability tangible through food — one of the most intimate and universal dimensions of human life — they offer a genuinely accessible entry point for learners of all backgrounds.
Website: associazionekora.it
Contact: info@associazionekora.it
