Cities without Hunger Brazil is transforming urban areas across Brazil by developing sustainable agriculture projects aimed at addressing food insecurity and generating income for local communities. Through the initiative, vacant lots are converted into vegetable gardens that provide fresh, healthy food while employing residents to work in these urban farms.

The project was founded by Hans Dieter Temp, who was motivated by the severe hunger he witnessed in São Paulo. According to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), 27.6% of Brazilian households—equivalent to 21.6 million homes—faced food insecurity in 2023. Hans Christian Temp, son of the founder and Manager of Investor Relations and Distribution at Cities without Hunger, highlighted the stark inequality that exists in São Paulo: “We have a lot of middle class and rich people here, but at the same time, in the same space, we have a lot of poverty.”

When the project first began, Dieter Temp’s main challenge was finding land to use for the gardens. “We focus on at least 8,000 square meters,” Christian Temp explained. The organization creates large urban farms that employ local workers and supply affordable food to nearby communities. After about a year, the farms are typically sustainable enough to support the people working there, offering them steady income and additional benefits through the program.

“This creates the opportunity to have better housing, better food access, maybe education for their children… rights that everyone needs to have,” Christian Temp said. These urban farms have grown to encompass 33 sites, providing employment for over 500 people. Additionally, the initiative has helped create 65 school gardens, producing more than 80 tons of food annually and serving over 60 students daily. According to Temp, Cities without Hunger has become one of the main food producers in São Paulo.

The school garden program is another crucial aspect of the organization’s mission. By turning unused spaces on school grounds into gardens, the project offers students hands-on lessons in growing and harvesting food. “The kids love to plant and harvest,” Temp remarked, calling it a celebrated event in the students’ day.

These school gardens ensure that students in underprivileged areas receive at least one nutritious meal each day. For many children in poorer neighborhoods, their school meal is the only reliable meal they’ll get. “We need to make this meal as nutritious as possible,” Temp explained. Cities without Hunger staff work with teachers and chefs to maximize the gardens’ educational and nutritional value, ensuring the produce is incorporated into healthy meals for the students.

One of the organization’s current priorities is to hire a more locally representative staff. Temp noted the importance of involving community members in running the program: “We want to hire people from the local communities to work in the administration of the foundation… because it’s not for us, it’s for their community.”

Looking ahead, Cities without Hunger aims to expand its model beyond Brazil. “We have the information; we have the technical skills in Cities without Hunger to be able to solve this problem in any place of the world,” Temp shared. “We only need the support, and the people will have the good will to do it.”

The initiative continues to demonstrate how urban agriculture can empower communities, improve food security, and foster self-sufficiency. Through its efforts, Cities without Hunger is proving that sustainable solutions can address not just hunger, but also the wider inequalities that contribute to food insecurity.