People queuing at a food distribution point in Moria Camp, Greece (2020). // Photo: MOTG
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Problem
Displaced communities reliant on food aid face the dual problem of nutritional poverty and aid precarity:
(A) low diet diversity creates micronutrient deficiencies, and in turn negative health impacts;
(B) fluctuating humanitarian assistance can leave communities vulnerable to sudden cuts, which force families to adopt harmful coping mechanisms to stave off severe hunger.
Mission
From Seed to Shelter (FSTS) builds solutions to increase access to nutritious foods and buffer against the worst impacts of aid shocks.
Approach
FSTS partners with grassroots organizations to pilot community-led solutions that decrease reliance on external aid and ensure consistent food access.
Our guiding belief is that refuge should be a place where people heal and rebuild.
Food access is an essential part of making this possible.
Funding shortfalls are worsening, causing hunger
Food insecurity is rising, but humanitarian assistance has shrunk to its lowest in 8 years
2025 saw severe cuts to aid, causing acute hunger
FSTS pilots alternative food solutions ...
FSTS partners with grassroots organisations to pilot different means of ensuring consistent food access for displaced communities
... to strengthen the humanitarian toolkit
Pilots build evidence & provide technical know-how for wider adoption of resilient food solutions
FSTS aspires to challenge how food access is conceptualised in humanitarian settings
By trialing, identifying, and scaling promising food solutions in collaboration with grassroots partners, FSTS hopes to prevent the worst impacts of hunger that threaten displaced communities.
In 2025, humanitarian assistance was cut significantly, putting a huge strain on displaced communities
In 2025, the World Food Program (WFP), the world's biggest humanitarian organisation, received about 40% less funding than it had in 2024. This was representative of shrinking support across the humanitarian ecosystem.
In 2024, the UN was already only 60% of the people assessed to be in need of assistance.
As a result of this shortfall, displaced communities that had been reliant on the WFP for support saw cuts in assistance of over 70%.
Consequently, hunger in these camps became more severe - people ate less, and diets became less diverse.
To stave off hunger, families often turn to negative coping strategies such as: skipping meals, theft, child labour, early marriages, transactional sex.
The situation is slated to remain precarious in 2026, with the WFP & Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) currently face a shortfall of $18.5b (Nov 2025), leaving millions at risk of experiencing severe famine.
Headlines from 2025: widespread cuts to food assistance put displaced communities in a precarious position
Reducing a community's reliance on outside aid is a step towards improved food security.
Last year, FSTS launched its first pilot to trial microgreens farming as a means of improving the diet of a displaced community
The set-up was built outside of Zervou Camp, Greece, in collaboration with the grassroots organisation: selfm.aid. The camp currently houses about 3000 asylum seekers in trying conditions.
Key result:
2300 plates were supplemented over 59 days of operation, and with 5.3m2 of floorspace
The pilot found that microgreens farming ...
is reasonably cost-effective: $0.06/person/day will satisfy a significant proportion of one's daily vitamin needs, averting ~56 DALYs per $100,000
is climate-resilient: withstood up to 43°C and restricted water
can be community managed: 6 members of the community were trained to run the set-up
is well-received: 92.6% of people interviewed wanted microgreens to remain in their diet
Additional reasons to consider adopting microgreens farming in other settings include:
Nutrient-density: microgreens have levels of vitamins ~5 times greater than mature plants per gram (on average)
Fast grow-cycle: many varieties of microgreens can be harvested in 7-14 days
Non-perishable inputs: microgreen seeds can be easily transported and sprouted on-site, without the risk of spoilage that fresh foods have when transported
Bolster iron intake: consumed together with iron-fortified food, microgreens increase the rate of iron absorption (due to their vitamin C content)
Require little floorspace: microgreens farming is suited for crowded contexts
The pilot evaluation was concluded in September 2025, though the farm continues to run. You can find the full report, toolkit, and video guides here.
Coming away from this first pilot, FSTS is shifting its attention towards launching pilots that focus on macronutrient-provision (calories, proteins) given the increasingly dire situation and increase of acute hunger overshadowing low-quality diets.
In 2026, FSTS hopes to partner with two more grassroots organisations to address food insecurity amongst the communities that they serve.
If you would like to get involved or contribute to this mission, please don't hesitate to reach out to me via ben [at] fromseedtoshelter [dot] com
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