EcoPlate

Nourishing Awareness for Sustainable Dining

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Inspiration

Our inspiration stems from the urgent need to address the environmental impact of food consumption on our planet. By fostering awareness and advocating for sustainable food choices, we aim to empower consumers globally to make informed decisions that contribute to mitigating the climate crisis. Through promoting locally sourced, organic, and regenerative food options, we envision a future where individuals play an active role in creating a more sustainable food system, one meal at a time.

What it does

Raise awareness among consumers about the environmental impact of their food choices and encourage sustainable consumption patterns. Support local, organic, and regeneratively produced food can contribute to mitigating the climate crisis in agriculture. Promote eco-conscious food choices, advocate for local, organic, and regenerative options to combat climate crisis through sustainable consumption. Through educational campaigns, community outreach, and digital platforms, we aim to raise awareness about the importance of supporting sustainable food systems. By encouraging individuals to prioritize environmentally friendly options for production and consumption, we aspire to foster a culture of sustainability that positively impacts both people and the planet.

How we built it

Our project began by researching the environmental impact of food choices among residence of (Gembu, Nigeria) and understanding the significance of promoting sustainable consumption patterns. We collaborated with experts in agriculture through FAO Family Farming Network, environmental science and consumer behavior to develop a comprehensive awareness-raising campaign through SMS and Email Newsletters. Utilizing social media (Facebook, Instagram and Twitter), educational Institutions (GSS Gembu and GTC Gembu), and partnerships with local farmers through (TADP Fadama Group) and businesses (Nelsonict Services), we spread the message about the benefits of supporting local, organic, and regenerative food options. Through creative messaging and community engagement, we empower consumers to make informed decisions that contribute to mitigating the climate crisis in agriculture. We also developed an Online Community to engage with expert researchers, organizations and Farmers to be able to share knowledge continuously through articles related to Climate and Food Security to reach a global audience.

Challenges we ran into

During the project implementation, we encountered various challenges. One major obstacle was overcoming consumer habits and preferences deeply ingrained in conventional food systems. Changing mindsets and behaviors required persistent education and communication efforts. Additionally, logistical challenges arose in sourcing and distributing local, organic, and regeneratively produced food options to meet consumer demand pose a great barrier. Limited availability and higher costs posed barriers to accessibility for some communities. Overcoming these challenges required strategic partnerships, innovative solutions, and ongoing advocacy to promote the benefits of sustainable consumption while addressing systemic barriers in the food supply chain.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are proud to have successfully developed a user-friendly website that serves as a hub for raising awareness about the environmental impact of food choices and promoting sustainable consumption patterns. By securing over 20,000 mobile and WhatsApp contacts from households across three cities through our main network, we have established a direct channel to disseminate information and engage with our target audience. Additionally, our outreach efforts to members of the FAO family farmers network (20 Joined Whatsapp group and considers registering as Authors) have yielded valuable insights and experiences, enriching our understanding of regenerative agriculture practices and strengthening our network of supporters. These accomplishments mark significant strides towards our goal of empowering consumers to make eco-conscious food choices and combatting the climate crisis through sustainable consumption.

What we learned

Through this project, we have learned the importance of leveraging digital platforms to amplify our message and engage with consumers on a large scale. Developing a website enabled us to provide accessible information and resources to individuals seeking to make more sustainable food choices. Additionally, securing over 20,000 mobile and WhatsApp contacts allowed us to establish direct communication channels, facilitating ongoing engagement and outreach efforts. Our collaboration with members of the FAO family farmers network taught us the value of partnership and knowledge-sharing in advancing regenerative agriculture practices. By tapping into existing networks and partnerships, we have been able to harness collective expertise and experiences to drive meaningful change towards mitigating the climate crisis in agriculture.

What's next for EcoPlate

EcoPlate will strive to engage more consumers, we also would acquire more global users through our portal and engage more authors for continuous advocacy. This project have the potential of changing lives of farmers as well as consumers, therefore, we'll include advocacy for sustainable farming in the next few weeks as well.

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Updates

posted an update —

The Ecoplate Mobile app will soon launch to reach out to global mobile users especially Android Lovers to feature eco educative games, Climate Quize, eco challenge with rewards for completion, global testimonials, realtime environmental issues and suggestions for mitigation, Partnership and collaboration room, live chat and many more

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