New initiative to support a LebensMittelPunkt at Tempelhof, Berlin
On the 12th of May, newly founded initiative Transformation Haus und Feld (TH&F) invited interested Berliners to its (online) kick-off meeting aimed at continuing civic efforts for a LebensMittelPunkt at the German capital’s decommissioned inner-city airport.
The concept LebensMittelPunkt has been introduced to the City of Berlin in 2016 by the AG Stadt & Ernährung of which Katrin Bohn is a founding member. It describes specified locations supporting the local food system by enabling the trade of food (products), as well as their storage, processing, consumption and waste recycling. The concept takes inspiration from the food hubs found in Canada and the USA. Since 2016, the idea has spread into several Berlin boroughs as well as into other German cities and initiatives.
Transformation Haus und Feld (TH&F), in their own words, is a team of activists in Berlin. ‘The extinction of species, the climate crisis, global and local injustice and the inertia of governments motivate us to take a practical approach to social and ecological transformation NOW. Instead of just fighting harmful industries, we want to help build the alternatives for city and country from below. Fun, cordiality, learning together, courage and the joy of experimentation characterise our cooperation.’
The newly founded initiative is committed to turning (some of) the currently little-used airport building in Berlin Tempelhof as well as (some of) the airfield into a ‘collective place for environmental and social change as soon as possible’. It envisions a transformation centre that fosters a community-supported circular economy. Especially in the run-up to the state elections later this year, it wants to bring the issue more into the public eye.
With this aim, Transformation Haus und Feld (TH&F) joins other Berlin-based initiative campaigning for public interventions in the old airport buildings that focus on food and food system activities – namely Berlin’s Food Policy Council (Ernährungsrat Berlin), the non-profit entrepreneurial society THF:Vision and the EU-funded innovation action project Foodshift 2030 – which all aim for the development of a LebensMittelPunkt (or Ernährungscampus [food campus]) on this inner-city site.
For more information on Transformation Haus und Feld (TH&F) see here.
For information on food-focused visions for Tempelhof Airport see here.
For information on the concept LebensMittelPunkt see here.
Image: Since 2009, (some of) the buildings and airfield of decomissioned Tempelhof Airport are being used for public events and as outdoor space. (source: Transformation Haus und Feld www 2021)