Connecting with Community at Umbra
An opinion piece by Reyliana Griffin
One of the parts of the Umbra Institute that makes it a unique place to study abroad, is the existence of service learning projects in the classroom. The purpose of service learning projects is to create bonds with the community in Perugia and help to create solutions for the problems they may be facing. These projects look different from class to class, but typically involve a field trip to a group in Perugia that would be hard to find on your own, and getting to know them. For Professor Neto Leão’s Sustainable Food Production course, we have been working closely with the local association Fuori di Zucca (abbreviated as FdZ). In his class, each semester of students that comes through continues the work of the previous. So we are continuing the work of the students of last spring!
The Fuori di Zucca Model
OAccording to one of the Italian teachers at Umbra, who is also a volunteer at FdZ, explained that Fuori di Zucca means ‘to be crazy like a pumpkin’. FdZFuori di Zucca is a sustainable purchasing group in Perugia. What this means is that they are a non-profit, volunteer-based organization that sells local food products to the community. It costs 10 euro to join and then you are able to buy produce, cheese, wine, pastries, and more from organic and local Umbrian (mostly Perugian) producers. All of the products are the face value price with only a 10% markup, but this markup is used only to sustain the organization and to provide food to struggling families in the city. So, if you buy a box of produce that costs 8 euro, you will pay 8.80 and the .80 will be donated to food packages for families.
We first met Domenico, the main operator of FdZ in week 4. He came to our class to explain FdZ to us and then we went on a field trip to visit their space, which is next door to the University for Foreigners. This same weekend we went on another field trip to visit two of the producers, Peter the cheesemaker and Lorenzo who grows all the produce for FdZ. Lorenzo is the main producer for our service learning project.
Meeting the Producer
Lorenzo’s lush farm is just outside of Perugia and when visiting we met his two dogs and his parents who cooked us a beautiful breakfast. Here, he explained the issues that he has been facing. Since Lorenzo does not have a greenhouse, he cannot grow vegetables during the cold winter months from the end of February to April. This means he does not receive any income at this time. Lorenzo and his girlfriend are the only two employees at the farm so he works around the clock at all other times of the year. He told us that it would be really helpful to have a type of pre-pay system, similar to a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) model.
For this reasonSo, our class has been working to create a pre-pay system to offset the amount of time he does not receive income. A couple of the people in our class are volunteers with FdZ which has allowed us to take a closer look at FdZ and see where we could help Lorenzo’s problem.
Our Contribution
We found that, since Lorenzo sells 3 kilo boxes of mixed vegetables every week for around 8 euro, we can use this for the pre-pay system. We were wanting to use this existing program but to expand it by creating an additional program that allows people to pay for 22 weeks of produce all at once. To do this we had to stay in contact with both Lorenzo and Domenico to find the exact amounts of money and the dates that he needed it.
After this work we have landed on the plan that members of FdZ will be able to pay for boxes for the May-September season for 154 euro if they pay by the end of February. This program is both a good deal for Lorenzo and for FdZ members. Lorenzo is able to make income to bridge the gap in time he faces and members are getting a better deal on their boxes than buying them every week.
In preparation for our meeting with the FdZ leadership, we created a google form, translated it and sent it to the members to get a better idea of how they feel about the boxes and to inform them on why we are wanting to do this. During FSE capstone (an opportunity for students enrolled in the Food, Suistainabilty and the Environment program), we visited another CSA that gave us a lot of ideas about how to best implement this as well. We are currently making and translating flyers and posters to explain the system. Hopefully, this pre-pay system will be available for purchase after our meeting with the members!
Becoming Part of the Community
Overall, this project has given me the opportunity to learn more about sustainable purchasing organizations and create bonds with like-minded people while abroad. FdZ is a hidden gem in Perugia and I am so grateful for this class to have allowed me to meet so many people. One of the hardest parts of leaving Perugia will be to say goodbye to this organization and those involved with it. If you don’t get the opportunity to continue this project in this class, absolutely volunteer or become a member (It’s much cheaper and higher quality than regular supermarkets)! It is a wonderful community to become part of during your time abroad.