Urban Agriculture and Food Insecurity Network (AUPA)
Created in 2018, the AUPA network brings together the actors involved in the fight for accessibility to healthy, sustainable and quality food for all.
Thanks to this network, more than 80 actors committed and concerned by this theme meet, discuss, present their actions, the constraints encountered and together try to build projects, internships and even advocacy to bring their voice to the public sphere.
What is precariousness?
The term "precariousness" refers, in our network, to a fairly large public, that is to say, to the beneficiaries offood aid, to residents ofaccommodation centers, to the inhabitants ofpriority areas of the city, to people inprecarious employment, tozero unemployment territoriesand toisolated people(men, women and/or children).
The common denominator of these populations is theirprecariousness or food insecurity. Conversely, theFood Safetyexists when all humans have, at all times, physical, social & economic access to healthy food of sufficient quantity and quality to meet people's energy needs and food preferences.
4 main pillars of food security
Availablity
Access
Use
Stability
At the origin of the network: 3 observations
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He today there are many forms of urban agriculture that are entering niche markets, selling products with high added value andthus increasing food inequalities in the city;
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Many populations of the city's political priority neighborhoods (known as QPV) arein demand for forms of urban agriculture(particularly collective gardens);
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Finally, institutional food aid mechanisms have many limitations, including that ofnot providing enough fresh produceto populations in great need.
More and more urban agriculture projects are devising models to meet the needs of the poorest. Between food gardens, solidarity grocery stores, gleanings from local producers, cooking workshops, shared gardens and many more...
The Chair brings its expertise through this network under the prism of urban agriculture which reveals several assets:
- access to fresh and local products which make it possible to diversify the diet
- the participatory aspect of urban agriculture projects makes it possible in particular to go against the distributive aspect of food aid
- the educational aspect is a vector of knowledge around food, whether it is knowledge of food, skills to produce or cook it
- and many more to discover via action research through the interconnections of the different actors
The actors involved today
This network currently brings together NGOs/associations such as ATD Fourth World, the Red Cross, Secours Catholique, local associations in connection with people in precarious situations, researchers and social landlords.
The public is not closed but the theme of "precariousness" and access to food through urban and peri-urban agriculture for these people is a necessary criterion and of common interest for the actors.
Minutes of recent meetings
Urban agriculture and food insecurity, what prospects?
Our partners
