Tiny restaurant, big potential: Duurzame relaties bouwen tussen boeren en burgers

The Tiny Restaurant is a mobile pop-up restaurant in Laarbeek, North Brabant, an initiative of the MIEP foundation, that wants to create awareness around food production and aims to bring the farmers and consumers closer together. In this Science Shop project, we looked at how the Tiny Restaurant contributes to building lasting relationships between farmers and citizens. Based on the research conducted by multiple students(groups), we drafted advice which is structured in three categories: optimizing the cooperation with farmers, connecting farmers and citizens, and internal organisation and vision of the MIEP foundation. The student research results provide insight into farmers’ own views of their work and the various (dis)advantages associated with it. We discuss the biggest obstacles they experience, as well as favourable conditions that create opportunities and facilitate farmers’ interaction with citizens. The report addresses the perceptions that farmers and citizens have of each other. While farmers are rather pessimistic about citizen support, local inhabitants claim express themselves positively about their attitudes and relations towards farmers. Various sources are used to find an explanation for this, including the perception of village council members and the media. Furthermore, we look at the vision of MIEP Foundation, the value proposition they create with the Tiny Restaurant, and the farmers’ perception of it. The results show that MIEP Foundation has a good understanding of the problems farmers face but is not on the same page with the farmers. This causes friction between the parties. Based on these findings we draw conclusions and make several recommendations that encourage MIEP foundation to formulate a clear vision, organise attractive activities with and for farmers, and communicate about their expectations.