Hack for Food, Hack for Good | Berlin: the projects

Hack for Food Hack for Good - Berlin is the fourth of a serie of hackathon in Europe designed and organized by OpenDot for FEAST - Food systems that support transitions to healthy and sustainable diets, the European project that aims to promote and support the transition towards healthier and sustainable eating habits and against food poverty.

As part of the Feast project, OpenDot acts as a facilitator of innovation and experimentation processes and has identified in the hackathon format the most effective way to identify a solution, starting from one or more "challenges".

The Hackathon synthesizes in fact a creative process that in OpenDot is the order of the day: starting from the real needs of people to find, in a collaborative and co-creative way, social innovation solutions that have technology as the enabling element of change.

In addition to the innovative and technological component, the hackathon allows to involve young people from different disciplines (developers, designers, communication experts and more) in a challenge that takes place in a limited period of time, thus emphasizing a collaborative mode that must express maximum effectiveness to lead to a satisfactory solution.

For the participants, the hackathon represents both an educational opportunity - because it allows them to learn new methods of collaboration and communication through the effective and concise presentation of their project - both relational and professional because it allows you to meet other students, young professionals and trigger new collaborations.

The winning team wins a mentorship and acceleration program with OpenDot for prototyping the idea.

For the Berlin edition of Hack for Food, Hack for Good, OpenDot collaborated with the Berlin Community Garden Programme of the Berlin Department for Urban Mobility, Transport, Climate Action and the Environment, with the aim of supporting the urban garden system in the city and generate positive change to improve health and promote the adoption of a healthier lifestyle.

After the conduction of two sessions of need finding with representatives of Berlin Community Garden Programme, gardeners and volunteers, OpenDot highlights different needs based and defined four main challenges:

• How can we develop a structured, systematic, engaging, and collaborative onboarding plan for new urban gardeners?

• How can we effectively help the community to share skills and create an internal common knowledge?

• How can we help urban gardens to best communicate their values and activities?

• How can we transform urban gardens into public spaces inclusive for everyone?

16 participants, divided into four teams, took part in "Hack For Food, Hack for Good" at Kiezkapelle Neukölln, near Prinzessinnengarten Jacobi: the first day of the event the teams began to work together, to know better the context of intervention, to identify the problem to be solved, interview gardeners, and to confront with mentors to sharpen ideas. On the second day of the event each team held a public pitch in front of the jury to present their idea, and the winner was announced publicly.

The KiezGarden project focuses on improving communication within community gardens. It aims to address challenges like internal coordination, member retention, and the onboarding of newcomers. The proposed solution is an interactive garden wheel leading to a digital platform with features like a planner, a knowledge exchange network, and a community calendar. This platform helps connect different gardens, share knowledge, and increase overall engagement.

Mentors

Agnese Gualandi - UX/UI Designer
Marta Savoldelli - EU Grant Expert
Cristina Biella - Project Manager, Content Designer
Emma Pareschi - Digital Fabrication Expert

Team members

Minette Mangahas - System Design Strategist & Gardener
Dishunee Pandya - Designer, Communication & Food Systems Expert
Niklas Michels - Architect
Paige Postma - Food Literacy Educator

This project aims to create a knowledge hub for Berlin’s community gardens. It addresses the need for efficient skill transfer and knowledge retention among garden members. The solution includes a shared database featuring articles, videos, and practical guides on key crops, tools, and skills. The content is curated by experienced gardeners, ensuring reliable and helpful information for both new and existing members.

Team: Katharina Jenkner, Amina Saeed, Arrivabene Alexandre, Ahmed Osman

The GardenSync project seeks to streamline the onboarding process for new urban gardeners. The idea involves developing a web application that includes a digital replica of the urban garden, offering interactive training resources. The platform provides structured onboarding, clarifies member roles, and promotes community engagement. The goal is to make it easier for new members to integrate while offering educational content to enhance their gardening experience.

Team: Etienne Degeest, Josefa Voigt

The idea consists in a mobile kiosk invading Berlin public spaces: it is designed to engage casual passers-by and promote urban gardens, their activities and their benefits through mini-workshops and give-aways.

Team: Anna Au

Project credits

Team
Laura Dellamotta - Co-Founder, supervision, general coordination
Giovanna Gardi - Co-Founder, administration and reporting
Alessandro Masserdotti - Co-Founder, general supervision
Fabrizio Pignoloni - Co-Founder, art direction
Cristina Biella - Project management, proposal writing, coordination, mentoring
Marta Savoldelli - Proposal writing and reporting
Camilla Guerci - Communication and social media

Mentors - OpenDot
Marta Savoldelli - EU grant expert
Cristina Biella - Project Manager, Content Designer
Agnese Gualandi - UX/UI Designer

Mentors - FEAST
Anant Jani - University of Heidelberg and FEAST Project Coordinator

Mentors - Local partners
Toni Karge - Community Garden Programme
Reiner Brown - Researcher, Founder of os4os

The Jury
Anant Jani - FEAST Project Coordinator
Toni Karge - Community Garden Programme
Reiner Brown - Researcher, Founder of os4os
Laura Dellamotta - OpenDot General Manager