In order to bring producers and citizens together in the best possible way, the Bio-Stadt Bonn has developed the shopping guide below, through which everyone can discover the topic of "organic and/or regional food supply". Organic farms, farm stores (marked with a brown logo) and organic markets (marked with a green logo) that are characterized by a conspicuous contribution to this topic are listed here: both on the interactive map (currently under revision) and in the list below. Organic, natural food and unpackaged food stores, market stalls, solidarity farms (Solawis) and regional organic delivery boxes (marked with a blue logo) are also listed. The shopping guide offers added value, particularly for regional food supply services. In contrast to organic products, which are marked with a seal, label or quality mark, regional products can only be recognized as such to a limited extent in most cases. Regionality does not have a clear label, as it is neither legally defined nor does it specify clear geographical boundaries and is often dependent on the individual ideas of consumers or companies. The shopping guide makes it possible to find locally and regionally produced products and at the same time to identify the area of the region they come from. In addition to the city of Bonn, surrounding areas of the Rhein-Sieg district are listed in order to bring Bonn residents closer to offers within easy reach outside the city area.

The shopping guide also offers the opportunity to see the relevant characteristics of the individual businesses with their range of products and services at a glance. Under "more information", in addition to contact details, opening hours and available products, other offers such as farm tours, excursions or other educational activities are also listed. If farms run their own cafés or have public events coming up, these can also be discovered.

Here, the Office for Local Sustainability and the Bonn Bio-City Coordination Office provide information about current events related to the Bio-City Bonn and look back at past events.

As part of the network of German organic cities, municipalities and rural districts, the organic city of Bonn once again accepted the invitation of the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture to Berlin this year, where the Green Week took place from January 17 to 26. In Hall 22a of the consumer fair, everything revolved around organic farming and questions about a sustainable future - the motto: "Organic? Na Logo!".

Throughout the entire Green Week, representatives from the German organic cities were on site and provided information in the Organic Hall about the work of the network and the topics that are currently being promoted in the respective cities.

As an ambassador for the network, Dr. Darya Hirsch, coordinator of the organic city of Bonn, answered questions from interested trade fair visitors from 19 to 21 January, explaining the idea and objectives of the organic cities and the motivation of the city of Bonn to join the network. The representatives of the organic cities, municipalities and districts were also able to use the Green Week as a place to exchange experiences with politicians, administrators and the media. Ultimately, the aim is to make the network and its concerns even better known and to gain further network members.

"Any municipality that wants to get involved in promoting more organic food can become a network member. Each city determines its own goals, path and speed of implementation. In doing so, it benefits from the experience of other organic cities and the exchange within the network. After all, there are already many tried and tested concepts that can serve as role models," says Dr. Darya Hirsch.

BIOFACH 2024 took place in Nuremberg from February 13 to 16, 2024, where exhibitors from all over the world presented the latest innovations in the organic sector. This year, the focus was on out-of-home catering, with organic offerings in company restaurants, canteens and cafeterias playing an important role.

The organic city of Bonn, part of the German network of organic cities, was also represented in hall 7a at stand 7-125. Visitors received information about the network and individual organic cities. Connections were made with similar initiatives in Europe, technical discussions were held and future joint activities and funding projects were discussed.

The Organic Cities Forum "Stadt.Land.Bio" took place parallel to BIOFACH, with panel discussions and workshops on topics such as community catering from a food policy, business and municipal perspective.

On behalf of the German network of organic cities, the organic city of Bonn gave the welcoming address at the "Best Organic Shop" awards ceremony organized by the magazine "Schrot und Korn". Dr. Darya Hirsch emphasized: "The work of the organic cities sets the course for sustainable nutrition in the municipalities, which corresponds to the claim of a climate-friendly, future-oriented economy. Organic cities support local actors in increasing the proportion of organic food in public kitchens, among other things. Organic retailers play a key role as partners and multipliers in this process. A good organic offering in the city and the surrounding area is particularly important for the city councils working in this network."

This is the name of the project funded by the Federal Program for Organic Farming and Other Forms of Sustainable Agriculture (BÖLN), which creates spaces for meeting, networking, learning and participating in regional and organic food production and supply.

In order to strengthen the range of information available to all Bonn citizens on regional and organic farming, organic food and sustainable and healthy food supplies, the Bio-Stadt Bonn, in cooperation with the "Stadt.Land.Markt" association, ran the project "We celebrate good food from the field to the plate to the compost!" from 2019 to 2021. Events such as organic networking cafés were held to raise awareness of the benefits of organic and regional agriculture and food along the entire value chain. At the same time, spaces for networking, learning and participation were established. The implementation of the "ecological networking cafés" format will be continued using the project's own budget funds.

Further information on the project can be found on this  page.