about us
Our mission is to drive the transition to a fair, diverse and sustainable food system.
The world is changing rapidly and existing systems are failing. The earth is overburdened and polluted, and increasingly unevenly distributed along economic, political and social lines. The need for vision and decisiveness is growing, along with the need to bring knowledge, diversity and nuance to important issues, such as the food question.
About us: Food Hub facilitates the food transition with innovative leadership and knowledge development. We bring the links of the food system into conversation with each other, and ensure that together they get a grip on the world of food and agriculture. Concretely, this takes shape in our trainings, communities, the events we organize and our concept development.
Joszi and Joris
Food Hub was founded in 2016 by Joszi Smeets and Joris Lohman. They know each other from the Slow Food movement dedicated to a good, clean and fair food system by promoting traditional cuisines and extensive agriculture. By founding Food Hub, they are broadening that movement by also targeting the business community and governments. Moreover, Joszi and Joris see developing food education as an important addition to existing efforts around the food and agriculture transition.
Our people
Nikita Aarsman
After spending time as an organizational hub in the music industry, Nikita actually wanted to do the same thing, but in combination with her greatest love: food! From online to offline and from ten to a thousand people: as a project coordinator within Food Hub, she is always on the starting blocks to take care of every project to perfection.
Wout Bierens
Through his many travels, Wout has been inspired by different cuisines and by how food always occupies a central place in people's lives. From the flavorful dish 'matapa' from Mozambique to the best dim sum from Hong Kong: food is emotion! As account manager at Food Hub, Wout takes all the worries out of our clients' hands.
Jeroen van IJzerloo
Jeroen creates order out of chaos and asks questions you didn't see coming. He doesn't believe in one truth, so always remains curious about better solutions to today's problems. At Food Hub, as general manager, he ensures the smooth running of man and machine and joined as director and co-owner in 2020.
Joris Lohman
As a political scientist, Joris is fascinated by the "wicked problems" in our global food system. Together with Joszi, Joris founded Food Hub in order to accelerate the food transition to a healthy and sustainable food system. Within Food Hub, he is the man with the plan and never misses an opportunity to quote Sicco Mansholt.
Maarten Moerkerken
After a long hospitality career at various restaurants in Amsterdam, Maarten wanted something different - but still kept busy with food and people. He now puts his sense of hospitality and overview to use internally at Food Hub. As Office Manager he ensures that all internal matters run smoothly, complements colleagues where necessary and supports the management.
Heleen Sanders
After studying sustainable food systems at the University for Peace in Costa Rica, Heleen traded bananas and pineapples back for potatoes and onions. Because the Netherlands is fertile ground for global food movements. From new platform to publication, at Food Hub Heleen manages to bring many a project to a successful conclusion.
Linde Schuijlenburg
As a farmer's daughter and mountain lover, Linde loves to stand with her feet in the clay or atop a mountain peak. Fortunately, she can bring her love of the outdoors, nature and vegetables from her own vegetable garden to Food Hub, because we never have enough of those. Moreover, as project coordinator, she makes sure that all projects are taken care of to perfection.
Joszi Smeets
Joszi is the creative of the team, building our educational programs and products. She co-founded Food Hub with Joris because, as a social geographer, she strongly believes that the food transition is people-driven and therefore emotionally and culturally charged. It is so big but also very small, and that makes food the best tool to have in your hands.
Lieke Tiles
Lieke is back on Dutch soil after several years living among the mountains, vineyards and farms in New Zealand. She is a great lover of champagne and 'haute cuisine' but also exchanges her heels just as easily for a familiar pair of clogs. She enjoys developing warm relationships and new collaborations for Food Hub.
Larissa de Vries
Larissa is the epitome of transition: after studying fashion management, hospitality and the media, she has finally found her niche in the world of food. Raised with two food cultures, Indian cuisine and Dutch pot, she secretly loves potatoes the most. In team communications, she creates all the visuals and takes care of tight content planning.
Ricardo Cano Mateo
Ricardo is a climate farmer for life. Together with Anne 2020, he started their regenerative demonstration farm on Grootstal estate, right next to Nijmegen. He developed the Regenerative Agriculture training with us.
Marieke Creemers
As lecturer Food System Transitions, Marieke is an expert in the field of food transition. She is involved in The New Family of Farmers as program maker and day chair.
Maarten Essenburg
As a creative strategist and design thinking expert, Maarten designs and facilitates co-creative workshops for Food Hub. Co-creative because we always work together and strategic because we don't like ideas until we have validated them. Hence; the prototyping mindset.
Peter Fechter
Peter is an entrepreneur, a partner at RS Finance, and runs consultancy 5voor1 with Jeroen van IJzerloo. With their work for The New Farmer Family, Peter and Jeroen have an important supporting role in the business development of young farmers.
Ragna Heidweiller
Ragna is a personal leadership and career coach, trainer and IBCT relationship therapist. She provides personal leadership training for various Food Hub programs.
Jeroen van IJzerloo
In addition to being a partner of Food Hub, Jeroen, as owner of consulting firm 5voor1, offers business development support to farmers. He does this together with Peter Fechter.
Ayra Kip
Ayra is a successful entrepreneur, producer in the culture sector and co-founder of KIP Republic. For Food Hub, she and twin sister Ira developed the Cooked history course.
Ira Kip
Ira is a director, writer, storyteller and co-founder of KIP Republic. For Food Hub, she and twin sister Ayra developed the Cooked History course.
Heleen Lansink-Marissen
Heleen is a dairy farmer in Twente and also active as an agro-influencer. She advocates 'green farming' and is moderator of the Online Farmer Accelerator.
Anne van Leeuwen
Anne is a climate farmer for life. Together with Ricardo 2020, she started their regenerative farm. With foundation Bodemzicht she is building the regenerative society. She developed the Regenerative Agriculture training with us.
Lelani Lewis
As a food entrepreneur and founder of multiple food companies, Lelani understands the process of turning an idea into an actual business. She is also a moderator and chairperson of multiple programs.
Joris Lohman
In his workshops, political scientist Joris dives into the theory behind the food transition with farmers, businesses and governments.
Arjen Oenema
Arjen is curious about people's behavior and believes that a new idea or design can elicit different kinds of behavior. In his trainings he translates with participants wishes and dreams into concrete ideas
Joszi Smeets
Joszi is an experienced trainer in the field of personal leadership. In these changing times, she helped more than 700 individuals develop their leadership potential, increase self-awareness and become natural leaders.
Beatrice Voorneman
As a designer and researcher, Beatrijs is fascinated by the philosophical side of design. For Food Hub, Beatrijs trains participants how to position their product, service or place in a future context.
Linda Vermaat
Linda is an experienced moderator, speaker and director of Innofest. During her pitch trainings, she teaches participants how to make sure the audience hangs on your every word.
Nadia Zerouali
Nadia is a cookbook author, TV chef and co-owner of the Couscous Bar and of the product line Nadia & Merijn's SOUQ. As a food entrepreneur, she tells the story of food, culture and identity in our programs.
Working together?
