MexicoEducation · Drought
In central Mexico, drought and water stress affect food systems and increase the vulnerability of families with fewer resources. In Tenango del Valle, the SUSANA youth initiative strengthens local food resilience: it rescues food that is about to expire and turns it into food pantries for vulnerable families, with school and community brigades that also recycle PET to finance the operation. In 2025 it will benefit around 1,700 people.
In central Mexico, drought and water stress affect food systems and increase the vulnerability of families with fewer resources. In Tenango del Valle, the SUSANA youth initiative strengthens local food resilience: it rescues food that is about to expire and turns it into food pantries for vulnerable families, with school and community brigades that also recycle PET to finance the operation. In 2025 it will benefit around 1,700 people.
Mexico faces high climate vulnerability due to floods, droughts, heat waves, extreme events and rising sea levels. The coastal areas of the Gulf of Mexico concentrate risks due to erosion, loss of territory, flooding and exposure of communities with a high dependence on ecosystems and local livelihoods. While the central and northern areas of the country are vulnerable to drought and water stress. The vulnerable communities that inhabit these areas are experiencing impacts on their food systems.
Strengthen the food resilience of vulnerable families in Tenango del Valle and San Francisco Putla against the impacts of drought on food systems, by rescuing food that is about to expire and distributing it to pantries, and promoting environmental education, PET recycling and the organization of school and community brigades.
The initiative proposes collecting food that is about to expire, organizing its use in pantries, financing part of the operation through collecting and recycling PET, and forming school and community brigades. It also raises awareness with students about recycling and using food.
Families and communities in need in Tenango del Valle and San Francisco Putla; In addition, students from four educational institutions participate in environmental awareness activities. In 2025, around 1,700 people will benefit.
SUSANA was created by Nally García Medina and is led by young people, who organize school and community brigades to collect PET and food, raise awareness among students about recycling and using food, and set up food pantries for vulnerable families.
SUSANA reports the participation of four educational institutions and the community of San Francisco Putla, the awareness of more than 200 students, the creation of school and community brigades and, in 2025, the support of around 1,700 people with pantries assembled from rescued food and PET recycling.
Nally García Medina, creator. Email: nally.gmedina@gmail.com
Community-based
The initiative is located in the State of Mexico, within a national context where drought, water stress and the vulnerability of food systems are relevant threats. The SUSANA project strengthens food security and sovereignty, improves access to food in the face of possible interruptions in supply chains and reduces the vulnerability of communities to climate impacts.
Mexico has a climate policy framework made up of the General Climate Change Law, the National Climate Change Strategy and its NDC 3.0. Its adaptation priorities include reducing vulnerabilities, water management and ecosystem protection. However, challenges persist in financing, institutional coordination, and local capacities to implement effective measures, especially in vulnerable communities.
The initiative brings together its creator, participating educational institutions and the community of San Francisco Putla. Schools facilitate awareness and organization of brigades; the community participates in the collection and use; and youth coordination promotes the management of food, PET and pantries.
Implementation has been facilitated by youth leadership, the participation of educational institutions, community organization, and the relative low cost of collecting PET and soon-to-expire food. Its main conditions are the need for constant financing, logistics for collection and distribution, permits or agreements with food donors, and greater documentation of the climate link.
The measure generates environmental education, food waste reduction, PET recycling, student participation, support for vulnerable families, community organization and learning about responsible consumption and local solidarity.
The measure can be replicated in other schools and communities if there are alliances with educational institutions, collection points, volunteers, safe channels to receive food that is about to expire, and clear mechanisms for distributing food to vulnerable families.
Its sustainability depends on maintaining active brigades, stable agreements to receive food, collection and distribution routes, continuous school participation and basic resources for operation. PET recycling can support financing, but management, traceability and institutional continuity must be strengthened.