San Cristóbal is a poverty-stricken neighborhood in Madrid. Its vulnerable population have difficulties to access food due to a lack of livelihoods, and the existing initiatives are not coordinated.

It is necessary to implement a model of community intervention for food security, promoting healthy eating through the empowerment and promotion of active citizenship, leadership of single-mother or single-parent families, and an efficient coordination and mobilization of resources and actors.

San Cristóbal de lo Ángeles, neighbourhood on the southern outskirts of Madrid, Villaverde district.

ACH will foster the active citizenship at San Cristóbal towards the improvement of food security and the promotion of healthy, diverse and affordable food. This urgent and relevant social problem will be the excuse to implement a better coordination among social entities, and to improve the leadership competences of their population, that will allow the citizens to take a relevant role for this cause and be proactive in all spheres of the society: political, economic, social, cultural, civic, family, etc.
It is needed a comprehensive approach to situations that require the coverage of basic needs, avoiding duplication of resources, building the capacities of the entities towards a more effective and coordinated food security interventions with a healthy approach.

Vulnerable population and families in this neighborhood, which have the lowest rent per capita in Madrid, the highest unemployment rate, the worst formal education rate and the highest percentage of migrant population in the capital: 32,21%, (Madrid 14,12%). It is estimated that it welcomes more than 80 nationalities.

Especially single-mother and single-parent families, as they are the ones who have the most difficulties regarding employment (they have precarious and or partial jobs because of their need of work and family conciliation), and in consequence with lack of food security, but also with lack of knowledge about healthy eating, but worried about it. Due to this they are considered the community members that can promote civic engagement towards this need in San Cristóbal.

1. Diagnosis of entities and initiatives, working alliances and cooperation with actors in the field. Development of interviews and discussion groups with entities, with the population of the neighborhood and with mothers and fathers of single-parent families.
2. Development of the alliance strategy and coordination plan. Development of a web page for the registration of entities, initiatives and actions.
3. Training of entities on the coordination plan and on the objective of food security with a varied, healthy, and affordable diet.
4. Training in community leadership, using a group coaching methodology for the development of the necessary skills, aimed at ensuring that the residents of the neighborhood are the protagonists of change with the aim of improving the food security situation of the neighborhood. The participation of single-mother families will be encouraged, due to their involvement and intrinsic motivation towards this objective.
5. Community actions of solidarity and empowerment of citizens as subjects of rights: promotion of healthy lifestyle habits, events and actions promoted by trained leaders, awareness and mobilization of the community in co-responsibility regarding care and nutrition healthy. Promotion of the political participation of leaders trained to improve food safety in the neighborhood.

At citizen level: trained leaders will be empowered and with a greater capacity to have an active social and civic participation. They will have a greater role in improving the neighborhood in terms of food safety and they will be capable and with initiative to be interlocutors with the local government.

At entities level: The entities will make better use of their resources thanks to the collaboration built, ensuring better and optimal access and distribution of them, incorporating the healthy food approach in their interventions.

At neighborhood level: thanks to an improvement in the neighborhood's self-esteem and health, and a greater dynamization of the common and public spaces of the neighborhood, it will enjoy more social cohesion, which will favor greater social inclusion.

Community members will be supported to be social and political active through the training on community leadership. They will participate in the design of the training, and they will be the ones organizing and promoting the civic activities and events.

Community leadership training will be aimed at solving food security problems in the neighborhood and will target people with different perspectives and circumstances. Competences such as decision-making, conflict resolution, empathy, negotiation, motivation, self-esteem, self-confidence, etc. will be worked on. Contents of this training will also include information about the diagnosis developed in the project with the existing social structures and initiatives, and the political institutions where they can and should use their voice.

ACH has presence with employment programs in San Cristóbal since 2015, supporting 331 people in 13 editions of this program. The program coordinator, the regional coordinator and the methodological coordinator know in detail the social situation and problems of the neighborhood, and have a direct and active relationship with other entities.

The employment programs incorporate a healthy eating and living approach, and we have also carried out a study of the diet, exercise and perception of the health of the people participating in our project in 2018.

Our experience at the national and international level in food security programs and cash transfers allow us to address the challenges of coordinating entities and training in community leadership successfully.

Personnel costs (1 project coordinator): 26.750 €
Web development: 1.500 €
Communication and dissemination: 1.000 €
Activities and events costs: 2.200 €
Office expenses: 200 €
Travel and subsistence: 300 €
Equipment: 1.050 €
Indirect costs: 2.000 €
TOTAL: 35.000 €

Any feedback on the proposed idea will be very welcomed.

We would like to have feedback about the risks that this intervention may have.

Please also ask any doubt about the project, it will help us to know possible misunderstandings that will allow us to refine it and better implement it.