Community-Based Approaches to Food Security and Sustainability (FSS223)

FSS223 Community-Based Approaches to Food Security and Sustainability aims to familiarize students with the concept of food security and sustainability from the lens of community partners and agencies. It is crucial for Singapore, as a small city-state with limited resources, to involve different stakeholders in strengthening food security and sustainability policies and programmes. One of the objectives of this course is to highlight the role played by the community partners and agencies in supporting Singapore’s Food Security Roadmap1 to increase local food production by 2030. By adopting the experiential learning principles, this course is designed for students to gain direct exposure on the strategies adopted by community partners and agencies in overcoming food shortage in Singapore. This learning approach aims to strengthen students’ understanding of the complexity of implementing policies and programmes involving the community. These experiences will allow students to reflect on the importance of food security and nudge them to think critically about ways to achieve food sustainability in Singapore.

• Introduction to community engagement
• Experiential learning and reflection
• Understanding food security and sustainability
• Food security roadmap
• Policies and programmes related to food security and sustainability
• Circular and regenerative food systems
• Community food systems
• Community-based urban farming
• Community-led initiatives in food security and sustainability
• Food wastage
• Food rescue/recovery and food banking
• Opportunities and development in food security and sustainability

• Discuss the challenges and opportunities in establishing food security and sustainability
• Describe community-based approaches in addressing food security and sustainability
• Identify strategies, policies and programmes that supports food security and sustainability
• Demonstrate effective engagement skills in working with community members
• Examine initiatives and its impact on establishing food security and sustainability
• Illustrate strategies to strengthen the outreach efforts of community partners and agencies