Details of the Initiative
The Honjo seminar group focuses on the theme “How we can connect producers and consumers of food” and has engaged in education, research, and social contribution activities in cooperation with 10 farmers, eight companies, and two local governments (industry–government–academia collaboration). We will introduce the group’s main activities in academic years 2023 and 2024.
In academic years 2023 and 2024, we participated in the project “People, Agriculture, Food, and Iitate: Connect to the future,” entrusted by Iitate-mura in Fukushima, which has signed a cooperation agreement on reconstruction after the Great East Japan Earthquake with the School of Agriculture and the University Farms. We worked on developing products and dishes that made use of the village’s farm products, and strategies to liven up the Marche in Shin-Yurigaoka.
We worked with cooperating famers KANNNO Muneo and WATANABE Tomiko , Otafuku Sauce Co., Ltd., two restaurants in Shin-Yurigaoka L-MYLORD shopping mall, and three Gosso izakaya restaurants. Students devised dishes using farm products and processed products that cooperating farmers make and sell, and served them at the restaurants. A total of about 2,000 items were sold and were well received. We also set up our stalls in the Shinyuri Festival Marche and Ikumei Fest and sold about 2,700 items, including those from other regions. This academic year, we will work with Morotsuka-son in Miyazaki. We would like to express our gratitude for the opportunities and connections that enable us to deal with social issues and participate in the creation of a sustainable society through collaboration with working adults.
