Welcome to the Chapter SHARE!
This chapter of the Food for Good Club Cookbook is a step-by-step guide for organising and facilitating a HACKATHON – a highly participatory event focused on creating sustainable solutions to food related problems in our communities. Think of this chapter as your complete guide to planting seeds of innovation, cultivating ideas, and growing impactful projects that nourish both communities and the planet.
Here, you’ll find a collection of “recipes” that take you through the full process, from setting up your local hackathon to guiding participants through idea generation, project design, and building real-world solutions. These recipes are designed to help address community needs and create initiatives around sustainable food systems, whether it’s a community garden, food-sharing network, waste reduction project, potluck dinners, or any other idea that brings people together around food and helps our communities to be more healthy and sustainable.
Each “recipe” outlines the essential “ingredients” and “steps” needed to build social entrepreneurship skills and advocate for sustainable food systems, promoting healthier, more equitable communities. Think of each “recipe” as an invitation to roll up your sleeves and build a better community.
WHAT WILL YOU LEARN IN THIS CHAPTER?
Through fun recipes and activities in this chapter, you’ll pick up awesome skills that help you:
Run Problem-Solving Events (Hackathons) learning how to bring people together to tackle food and sustainability challenges in creative and exciting ways.
Create Real-World Solutions discovering how to develop ideas that make a difference in how communities grow, share, and manage food.
Dig Deep into Challenges gaining tools to research, understand, and tackle key issues in your community.
Brainstorm & Test Ideas exploring creative thinking, testing your ideas, and refining them to make sure they actually work.
Build & Try Out Prototypes turning your ideas into real projects, testing them out, and getting feedback to improve them.
Work with Mentors & Teams boosting your communication and teamwork skills while collaborating with others.
Make Your Ideas Sustainable learning how to build food-related projects that are not only helpful but also financially sustainable.
Pitch Like a Pro developing the confidence to share your ideas and inspire others to join your mission!
WHO IS A PART OF THE HACKATHON TEAM?
Thoughtful preparation is essential for each event or activity. Just as you would gather ingredients for a recipe, you’ll need to gather your team to make this hackathon a success. This includes Participants, Facilitators, and Mentors who bring their unique flavors and perspectives to the process.
PARTICIPANTS (CO-GROWERS AND CO-CHEFS)
Any young person or community member with a passion for food, sustainability, or community improvement who brings ideas, energy, and creativity and is eager to build new skills can join. No specific skills are required, as the hackathon is designed to be accessible to all.
FACILITATOR (HEAD CHEF)
The Facilitator is the head head chef of the event, guiding participants through every step of the hackathon process. This person will organise and manage event flow, and encourage participants to think big and dig deep. They keep the event on track, support participants as they brainstorm and develop their projects, and serve as the main contact for mentors and participants.
Cooking Tips for Facilitators
- For online events, designate a technical helper to handle virtual platform needs.
- Consider splitting the role and doing it together with more people so each person can focus on specific parts of the event, such as mentoring, troubleshooting, or managing sessions.
- To help you prepare for the facilitation, we created a Presentation Sample. It provides a clear structure and flow to guide participants through each stage. Adjust the presentation to match your experience, style, and the needs of your participants, making it interactive and engaging for them.
MENTORS (GARDENERS OF IDEAS)
Mentors provide the nutrients that enrich every team’s ideas. They are an experienced entrepreneur or leader in sustainable projects who provides guidance, insight, and support to each team through idea development phases which ultimately helps them build their projects. They support participants through brainstorming, problem-solving, and implementation stages, helping them grow their ideas into sustainable projects. Mentors should ideally bring knowledge of both sustainable practices and community-focused projects.
Mentor’s Profile
A great mentor is more than just knowledgeable, they’re empathetic, able to provide constructive feedback, and skilled at motivating participants.
Here’s what to look for in a mentor:
- Experience in sustainable food, business building, or project design
- Strong communication skills, including active listening and encouragement
- Ability to support problem-solving and creative thinking
How to Find and Engage Mentors?
- Identify Your Mentors: Look for experienced people within your network who are enthusiastic about sustainable food systems or community development.
- Invite Them to Join: Share with them the event’s purpose and its role in supporting young people as they create solutions for food-related challenges.
What is a Mentor Going to be Doing?
- Attending Mentor Preparation Workshop run by a facilitator (30 minutes)
- Provide 2 Mentoring Sessions with one team (20 to 30 minutes each session)
- Attend the final Pitch Presentations to provide feedback and celebrate participants’ growth and achievements (30 minutes)
