Ernährungsrat Berlin

What Ernährungsrat Berlin does

Ernährungsrat Berlin is a registered non-profit civic association (eingetragener Verein) founded in 2016 in Berlin, Germany, operating as one of the country's oldest and largest food policy councils. The organization functions as a broad civil society alliance uniting consumers, urban gardeners, food rescuers, local food businesses, scientists, and community organizations to advocate for a climate-just and socially equitable food system transformation in Berlin and Brandenburg. Core activities span policy advocacy (engaging the Berlin Senate, district administrations, and Brandenburg policymakers), community organizing through working groups (Arbeitskreise) and public assemblies (Vollversammlungen), research and educational outreach via the mobile ErnährungsCampus and the multilingual 'Wie isst Berlin?' survey, and program delivery including the FoodCLIC EU Horizon Europe project and the Gemüse auf Rezept ('Vegetable on Prescription') initiative that links low-income patients with community-supported agriculture.

The organization's product surface is non-commercial: outputs include a podcast series ('Wir sind schon mal los', 32+ episodes), position papers, multilingual information materials in up to eight languages, the Politischer Kreis policy working group, quarterly multilingual Food Justice Get-Togethers, and participation in high-profile public demonstrations such as 'Wir haben es satt' (9,000 participants in January 2025). Revenue comes from a mix of individual donations, membership contributions, Berlin Senate and district-level public project grants, and EU research funding. The organization is co-hosted at Berlin Global Village gGmbH in Neukölln, operates with approximately 8 paid staff including project coordinators and an authorized representative (Henrike Rieken), and depends on a broader base of thousands of volunteers.

Ernährungsrat Berlin is a founding member of the Bundesnetzwerk der Ernährungsräte, established in 2023 as the national umbrella organization that now coordinates 60+ regional food councils across Germany; a federal office for this network became operational in November 2025. The organization's market is the Berlin metropolitan region, but its influence extends to federal German policy (coalition agreements, the Bürgerrat Ernährung im Wandel) and EU-level advocacy (FoodCLIC, European Citizens' Initiative for the Right to Food). Distribution is entirely open-access: all events, podcasts, working groups, and content are free, with engagement driven by civic participation and advocacy rather than commercial transaction.

Name

Ernährungsrat Berlin

Legal name

Ernährungsrat Berlin e.V.

Website

https://ernaehrungsrat-berlin.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Ernährungsrat Berlin is a registered non-profit food policy council founded in 2016 that operates as a multi-stakeholder civil society alliance in Berlin and Brandenburg, advocating for a climate-just ecological food transition through policy engagement, working groups, community events, the FoodCLIC EU project, and the Gemüse auf Rezept program.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Food policy advocacy and civic engagement

NAICS

Community Food Services (624210), Community Food Services (62421)

SIC

Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, Nec (8090)

akta.pro primary industry

Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems (Fair Trade, Food Access, Regenerative) (BPAGALAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Nutrition & Food Security (Global Health) NGOs (HLAJAKAH), Nutrition, WASH & Social Determinants Partnerships (Cross-Sector Health Initiatives) (HLAJAOAO), Resilient Livelihoods & Climate-Smart Food Security (BPADAJAH), Climate Resilience & Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) (BPAGABAK)

Keywords

• Food policy advocacy
• Sustainable food systems
• Food justice council
• Community organizing
• Right to food

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and membership fees: The organization accepts donations from individuals and supporters. It is registered as a non-profit association (e.V.) and raises funds through its website donation mechanism.
2. Public funding and project grants: Financed through public grants and project-based funding. The website references financial support pages and transparency disclosures. The FoodCLIC project is an EU-funded research project (Horizon Europe) indicating externally funded project work.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Ernährungsrat Berlin operates a portfolio of food-policy advocacy, community-organizing, and project-delivery activities rather than commercial products. Concretely, it produces a podcast series ("Wir sind schon mal los"), runs EU-funded research and social programs (FoodCLIC, "Gemüse auf Rezept"), publishes position papers and policy demands, hosts multilingual community events and working groups, and conducts food-environment research and surveys (e.g., "Wie isst Berlin?"). All outputs are free of charge and aimed at advancing a climate- and socially-just ecological food transition in the Berlin-Brandenburg region.

Product overview

Ernährungsrat Berlin is a civil society alliance advocating for ecological, climate-just, and socially equitable food production and distribution in Berlin. The organization operates as a multi-initiative platform rather than a single product company. Its core offerings include: (1) a podcast series 'Wir sind schon mal los' for food policy education and awareness; (2) the 'Recht auf Nahrung' (Right to Food) initiative with projects like FoodCLIC and 'Gemüse auf Rezept' addressing food poverty and access; (3) working groups such as the Politischer Kreis for policy development; (4) educational outreach via the mobile ErnährungsCampus; and (5) community events including multilingual Food Justice Get-Togethers. The organization focuses on advocacy, community organizing, and policy influence rather than commercial products or technology services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Gemüse auf Rezept (Vegetable on Prescription): Project enabling patients to receive subsidized memberships in community-supported agriculture through medical recommendation
• FoodCLIC
• Wir sind schon mal los

Products and services

• Podcast: Wir sind schon mal los Recurring podcast series featuring discussions on food policy, nutrition justice, sustainable food systems, and Berlin's food landscape. Episodes cover topics such as urban food poverty, community gardens, sustainable cooperatives, planetary health diet, the right to food, and free school meals. Distributed via the organization's website and major podcast platforms.
• FoodCLIC EU-funded research project under Horizon Europe examining urban food environments and developing solutions for equitable access to sustainable nutrition. The project involves multiple European cities including Brașov (Romania) and focuses on food environments, food poverty, and the right to food. Ernährungsrat Berlin acts as the Berlin local partner, hosting consortium conferences and contributing to cross-city learning.
• Gemüse auf Rezept (Vegetable on Prescription) Health-and-social program in which doctors issue subsidized memberships in community-supported agriculture (CSA) to patients. Participants receive regular deliveries of fresh, regional vegetables from partner farm SoLaWi Ackerwesen on the Waldpferdehof farm, providing low-income patients access to nutritious food through medical recommendation.
• Wie isst Berlin? — Berliner Ernährungsumfrage (Berlin Food Survey) Multilingual city-wide survey initiative (15-minute online questionnaire) directed at all Berliners to gather evidence on access to good, healthy, and sustainable food across the population. The survey is offered in five languages (German, English, Arabic, Turkish, and Ukrainian) and produces data for food-environment research and policy advocacy.
• Positionspapiere und Forderungen (Position Papers) Curated library of policy position papers and political demands covering food democracy, school meals, food poverty, sustainable procurement, and a Berlin/Brandenburg future menu. Includes contributions to the Bundesnetzwerk's joint positions and the coalition agreement with Berlin's red-red-green government.

Quantifiable outcome

• Founded 2016 — one of first two food councils in Germany; grew to 60+ across the nation by 2025
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Deutsches Institut für Menschenrechte (German Institute for Human Rights)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 January 2024Ernährungsrat Berlin participated as a panelist at a professional forum organized by the German Institute for Human Rights at the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA) in January 2024. The event focused on social participation as essential for realizing the right to adequate food.
• Ag.Urban (Stadtplanungsbüro)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerErnährungsrat Berlin partnered with urban planning firm Ag.Urban to conduct a study on food environments in Spandau (Falkenhagener Feld). The collaboration produced detailed maps and urban planning recommendations for improving access to healthy sustainable food in the neighborhood.
• SoLaWi Ackerwesen (Solidarische Landwirtschaft)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSoLaWi Ackerwesen is a community-supported agriculture farm that partners with the Gemüse auf Rezept (Vegetable on Prescription) project. Patients receive subsidized memberships in exchange for regular deliveries of fresh regional vegetables grown on the Waldpferdehof farm.
• Bundesnetzwerk der Ernährungsräte (Federal Network of Food Councils)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerErnährungsrat Berlin is a founding member of the Bundesnetzwerk der Ernährungsräte, established in 2023 as the formal national umbrella organization for Germany's 60+ regional food councils. The network coordinates national advocacy, shares resources, and develops joint policy positions.
• European FoodCLIC Project (Horizon Europe)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerErnährungsrat Berlin participates in FoodCLIC, a European Horizon Europe-funded research project on inclusive food transitions. The project involves multiple European cities including Brașov (Romania) and focuses on food environments, food poverty, and the right to food. The organization hosted consortium conferences and contributed to cross-city learning.
• Berlin Senate and District AdministrationscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerErnährungsrat Berlin collaborates with Berlin's Senate and district administrations on food policy development. By signing the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact in 2015 and the subsequent red-red-green coalition agreement, the Berlin government committed to developing a sustainable food strategy in partnership with the food council.
• Berliner TafelminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Berliner Tafel (food bank) was featured in podcast episode #21 as a key actor in Berlin's food safety net. The organizations share a concern for food poverty but the relationship appears informal rather than formal.
• Institut für Ökologische Wirtschaftsforschung (IÖW)minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerAnonymous experience reports from people with poverty experience can be sent to the IÖW office at Potsdamer Straße 105, 10785 Berlin, suggesting an administrative or research support relationship.
• Berlin Global Village gGmbHminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerErnährungsrat Berlin is hosted at Berlin Global Village (c/o Berlin Global Village gGmbH, Am Sudhaus 2, 12053 Berlin), a co-working and event space in Neukölln that hosts food justice and international solidarity organizations.
• Bürgerrat Ernährung im Wandel (Citizens' Council on Food Transformation)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerErnährungsrat Berlin collaborates with representatives of the German Bundestag's Citizens' Council on Food Transformation to advocate for implementation of the council's recommendations, particularly free school meals. The network organized joint discussions at the Federal Congress in March 2025.
• CONSEA Brasil (Conselho de Segurança Alimentar e Nutricional)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBrazil's National Food and Nutrition Security Council serves as an international model and inspiration for Ernährungsrat Berlin's work on food democracy and the right to food. Elisabetta Recine, President of CONSEA, was featured as a keynote speaker at the GFFA event co-organized with the German Institute for Human Rights.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• IPES-Food (International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems): IPES-Food is an international expert panel producing evidence-based reports on sustainable food systems and influencing global and European policy. It is a peer in the sustainable food-systems policy arena, operating at a higher geographic level with similar evidence-to-policy advocacy.
• Food Tank: Food Tank is a global food policy research and advocacy organization producing research, reports, and convenings on sustainable food systems. Comparable to Ernährungsrat Berlin in policy advocacy and content/podcast production but at a global rather than municipal scale.

Direct peers

• Nourish Scotland: Nourish Scotland is a food policy advocacy organization working on right-to-food legislation, good food nation policies, and sustainable food systems in Scotland. It is a regional peer with comparable right-to-food framing and policy advocacy.
• Food Ethics Council: The Food Ethics Council is a UK charity working on ethical issues across the food system, including policy advocacy, research, and convening. It is comparable to Ernährungsrat Berlin in its food-system policy focus and civil-society advocacy approach.
• Sustain: The Alliance for Better Food and Farming: Sustain is a UK alliance of ~100 organizations advocating for better food and farming policies, including food poverty, sustainable procurement, and food justice. It is a direct peer to Ernährungsrat Berlin as a multi-stakeholder food-policy advocacy alliance.
• Toronto Food Policy Council: The Toronto Food Policy Council is one of the most established municipal food policy councils globally, convening civil society stakeholders to advise municipal government on food strategy. It is directly comparable to Ernährungsrat Berlin in structure, mandate, and city-level food-policy advocacy.
• LA Food Policy Council: LA Food Policy Council is a broad-based food policy council coordinating across sectors in the Los Angeles region to advance equitable, healthy, and sustainable food systems. It is a direct structural peer to Ernährungsrat Berlin, working on similar cross-sector coalition building at the metro-regional level.

Regional players

• Berliner Tafel: Berliner Tafel is Berlin's largest food bank, addressing food poverty through redistribution of surplus food. It operates in the same city and shares Ernährungsrat Berlin's concern for food poverty and food justice, but is a direct-service provider rather than a policy advocacy organization.

Broad incumbents

• BUND (Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland): BUND is a major German environmental NGO engaging on agricultural and food policy topics including pesticide reduction, organic farming, and sustainable food systems. It is a broader, more established NGO competitor for advocacy attention and donor funding in the same policy domain.
• Slow Food Deutschland: Slow Food Deutschland is the German branch of the global Slow Food movement advocating for good, clean, and fair food. It is a broad incumbent in the German food-policy advocacy space with overlapping constituencies but a more consumer/cuisine-focused positioning than Ernährungsrat Berlin's policy and right-to-food focus.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ernaehrungsrat
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCF55ShnNcYFEl-fE_41vITg
• Facebookfacebook.com/ernaehrungsrat.berlin
• Instagraminstagram.com/ernaehrungsratberlin
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ern%C3%A4hrungsrat-berlin

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Ernährungsrat Berlin