Event
Chop & Chat: Strengthening Local Food Networks in Berlin
Within SWITCH, VFnuK e.V. is supporting new collaborations that make sustainable and healthy eating tangible in everyday life. One of these co-created initiatives is the cooperation between Nachbarschaftshaus Urbanstraße e.V. and the Torhaus Kochkollektiv, which together started running the community cooking format Chop & Chat.
Chop & Chat events are monthly community cooking events where people of different ages, backgrounds and nationalities come together to chop, cook, and share meals. Seasonal vegetables from local farms are combined with rescued food from food-sharing initiatives, and participants develop the menu for the community meal collectively. While cooking, they exchange experiences and ideas about everyday life, sustainability, healthy eating, and social challenges in Berlin, creating a space for participation and inclusive learning.
The partnership between NHU and Torhaus emerged through the Berlin hub’s network and the co-creation process in the context of SWITCH activities. By connecting actors from different parts of the food system, the initiative brings together community kitchens, food-sharing projects, and local farmers from Brandenburg. Farmer Johanna from the CSA initiative Gemüse Syndikat regularly joins Chop & Chat, sharing fresh seasonal produce and practical knowledge about food production. By bringing Brandenburg farmers into the community cooking context the initiative also facilitates dialogue between end consumers and primary producers, people start to chat about where our food comes from and how farmers produce what we eat every day. The initiative is supported by funding from Deutsche Bahn Stiftung.
Several events are still coming up in 2026:
- 29 May 2026 – Mehrgenerationenhaus Gneisenaustraße
- 24 June 2026 – Nachbarschaftshaus Urbanstraße
- 31 July 2026 – Special edition NHU Summer School
- 26 August 2026 – Nachbarschaftshaus Urbanstraße
Chop & Chat shows how we and our partners support real-life experimentation: enabling new partnerships, connecting urban and rural food actors, and creating community spaces where people can experience and learn sustainable eating.