Hi!! My name is Lula, and I work with the UCU student group in the Lunetten community on sustainable food choices. 

On February 24th, Oliver and Montserrat attended the community dinner at the Amateurtuindersvereniging Utrecht-Zuid. During the dinner, another group of Informatics students, of University of Utrecht, were also present, This group is working on a website for centralizing recipes from community members of Lunetten. Our group was able to explain our project, but because of our language barrier we were not able to engage in depth with conversations with the community members. Nonetheless it gave us some insight on the community and how they interact within a community dinner. 

Having done the street interviews on February 19th, we came into another round of interviews on February 26th with more perspective and experience on what to ask and how to approach people. We thought interviewing in groups of two was ideal, so we continued with this research design. This time, we added another critical question in our interview: “Are you interested in cookbooks and/or a website for recipes from the residents in the Lunetten community?” This gave us some insight during the interviews, as some of the interviewees seemed interested in seeing this happen as an initiative for the community. We were also asking this question to see if the community members had any suggestions for what they would want to see in a website for Lunetten. 

Based on the interviews conducted on February 26th, we gained a broader understanding of how Lunetten residents approach sustainability in their daily lives. Many interviewees associated sustainability primarily with reducing food waste and eating less meat, with several participants describing themselves as mostly plant-based or vegetarian where possible. For some, sustainability is rooted in habit rather than active decision-making: buying the same products each week, shopping at supermarkets such as Hoogvliet, Jumbo, or Albert Heijn, and not paying much attention to labels. Others emphasized practical systems that make sustainable choices easier, such as choosing whole foods or building routines so they do not have to think too much while shopping. Cost and energy were recurring themes: some residents prioritize the cheapest options available or rely on grocery delivery due to limited energy for cooking. Interestingly, while not everyone consciously reflects on sustainability, several participants grow their own food in allotment gardens or greenhouses, highlighting an existing culture of local food production. There was also notable interest in the idea of a community cookbook or recipe website, with multiple interviewees expressing enthusiasm for sharing and accessing recipes within Lunetten. Overall, sustainability in Lunetten appears to be shaped by a mix of personal values, habits, affordability, and practical considerations, with promising openness toward community-based food initiatives.

We are looking forward to our next community dinner on March 6th at Knooppunt Lunetten’s Tasting, an initiative by and for Lunetten residents. The link for this event can be found here.

For this dinner, the community members are already aware of our project and some people will be ready to have a conversation with us about sustainable living in Lunetten. We will prepare a survey in Dutch for residents to include and engage with people whose preferred language is Dutch. 

This week we are excited to have our Action Learning Set (brainstorming session) with our class to discuss how we can motivate more community members to engage in sustainable food practices. I am looking forward to seeing how our project goes and to volunteering and joining in on the dinner this Friday, March 6th!