The Environmental Social Science Research Group (ESSRG) is researching the food choices and dietary habits of single-parent families as part of the PLAN’EAT research project. In a co-creation workshop, together with the parents involved, we developed a year-round lifestyle programme in collaboration with the Budapest Bike Maffia, which we have launched in March 2025.
The aim of the programme is to help single mothers to develop healthier and more sustainable eating habits, targeting the High Impact Behaviours that we have identified: eating more vegetables, fruits and legumes – which will have a positive impact on their quality of life in the long run. Based on our previous research, we have found that stress, fatigue and financial burden are the primary barriers for the parents, thus we will focus the micro-interventions on creating a supportive community to help them connect with their fellow parents, while learning and developing skills in producing food in harmony with nature, self-sufficiency and healthy eating.
From March 1. to December 13. 2025, 15 single-parent families will participate in the comprehensive lifestyle program. In the 2400 square metre garden near the border of the 11th district of Budapest, parents and their children will prepare and then take care of the vegetable beds, and plant tomatoes and other crops throughout the year. As well as caring for (and harvesting) the plants, we’ll also have lots of exciting activities, courses and games.
At the first session in March, after an intention-setting activity, the children went on a glove-treasure hunt in the garden, then together we shovelled and wheelbarrowed soil for beds; learned how to make beds, sow and cover; and all the while learned about regenerative farming, mulching, and producing food in harmony with nature.
On the second occasion, we created mini greenhouses and snail traps, and learned the basics of weeding and pruning.
On our third Sunday spent together in the Budapest Bike Maffia Farm, which happened to be on Mother’s Day, the kids painted pots for their mothers, collected soil, and planted marigolds. Together, we have also learnt about mulching, pruning plants, and nitrogen supplementation with the help of home-brewed nettle tea, with plants picked straight from the garden!
The fourth occasion was especially close to our hearts (and our bellies) – we have harvested our first crops: peas! After munching on these fresh and crunchy delicacies, together with the kids, we have built bug hotels to provide some refuge to our vulnerable but crucial companions, too. And, in the meantime, our dietitian colleague, Emese Antal, has introduced us to menu planning with the help of the Smart Plate concept. I must say – we had an active Sunday!
Another month, another sunny day out on the Budapest Bika Maffia Farm! This time, we have organized a herb workshop with our colleague, Bori Lipka, set out on a herb hunt in the garden, discussed the health benefits of all the precious plants found, and came to the conclusion that “every plant can be medicinal”. With the kids, besides the herb hunting game, we have practiced spice recognition – from oregano through parsley to curry – while talking about each of their benefits.
The Budapest Bike Maffia Farm never ceases to surprise us – and our last summer occasion in August was no exception! 🌿
Once again together with our colleague, Bori, we dove into the secrets of seed saving: the mothers learned how to collect and preserve seeds while discovering a variety of plants up close. Meanwhile, the kids enjoyed exploring spices, painting, and crafting spice bracelets – filling the garden with creativity and colour. Once again, it was truly refreshing to spend time outdoors, learning, playing, and reconnecting with nature! 🌱
September brought single parents and their kids new ways of joy and 
nutrition in the Budapest Bike Maffia Farm! As summer is behind us, and colder times are approaching, the spotlight now was on growing edible plants in the house: we learnt about and tasted various kinds of nutrient-packed sprouts! Moreover, with the kids, we played recognition games with fruits and vegetables – they were guessing the covered products by their smell, taste, and even texture. We all learnt a lot and had so much fun together! 🍐🍇🥕
“When a sighing begins
In the violins
Of the autumn-song,
My heart is drowned
In the slow sound
Languorous and long”
Even though autumn has truly arrived with October, for the participants of our BBM Farm gardening intervention project, it’s luckily not as depressing as for Paul Verlaine. This month, we have learnt about Hügelkultur (also known as mound bed or mound culture), a horticultural technique where a mound constructed from decaying wood debris and other compostable biomass plant materials is planted as a raised bed, with the benefits of improved soil fertility, water retention, and soil warming. In addition, we have propagated sage plants enriched with turmeric water. For the kids, we have arrived with a charming – or othertimes spooky – craft activity: they created personalised, one-of-a-kind mini sculptures out of pumpkins! And with that, Halloween season is officially here!
On our last occasion in November at the Budapest Bike Maffia Farm, we have immersed in the many gifts that gardens and nature provide us: we have discussed the importance of fruit trees and of the many beneficial herbs vastly available nearly everywhere, we have learnt about the often overlooked but delicious and diverse root vegetable, the Jerusalem artichoke, and have gained insights about composting and how to build our own compost bins in an easy but effective way. In the meantime, the kids enjoyed the last rays of the sun for the year, built creative bird feeders for the colder times, and climbed trees. 🌳 It was tough to say goodbye to the garden, but luckily, the farm remains open for other social events and gardening programs for all.
On our final meet-up in December, we have visited the Single Parents’ Center again to close a full circle. Here, we have summarised and reflected on our journey that we took together: from the very first, co-creating occasion, to the weekend in November when we have said our farewells to the garden. We have dived into the focus group discussions about the advantages and challenges of our gardening program series specifically created for single parent families with the help of our HOPEN tools to observe and help articulate our connections and feelings. We found it important to provide closure to the kids as well, thus we have utilised the same HOPEN art objects to talk about their experiences, feelings, and take-aways. After saying our goodbyes to our community programs, together with all participants from 4-year-olds to adults, we have created a ‘thanks-tree’, expressing our gratitude for the Budapest Bike Maffia Farm and their members.
You can read more about the PLAN’EAT project on the project’s website.