SDG 2 - 3.4. Sustainable food purchases - Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences
SGD 2 - Zero Hunger
SDG 2 - 3.4. Sustainable food purchases
Last modified: 21. November 2025
3.4. Sustainable food purchases
MATE prioritises purchase of products from local, sustainable sources both on low and high level. MATE students and staff prefer obtaining food from local markets.
SZIA Agroecological Garden of MATE (Gödöllő)
SZIA Agroecological Garden of MATE in Gödöllő is a social garden which has other tasks and functions besides agricultural production. In our case, it is education, awareness-raising, i.e. the promotion of organic gardening, ecological farming and green, environmentally sustainable lifestyles, and the presentation and dissemination of practical methods. Another important task of the social garden is to provide work and development opportunities for disadvantaged people, such as the disabled and the long-term unemployed.
The garden functions as a community space, providing space for environmental education, camps and workshops. It also serves as a venue for corporate team-building training and family days, where groups can enjoy crafts, gardening and cooking together to raise awareness of sustainability. At SZIA Garden, they practice ecological gardening and work with disabled and disabled colleagues. They sell the vegetables others help them grow to a restaurant and to the local Dombvidék Kosárközösség (Hillside Basket Society). They do not currently sell at their own "SZIA Market", but they are working on getting their customers to come to them in this way in the future.
Buda Arboretum Organic Garden (“Biogarden”) is an educational garden presenting the principles and practices of organic farming in the Buda Arboretum, run by the staff of the Department of Agroecology and Ecological Management (Institute of Rural Developement and Sustainable Economy, MATE - https://rural-development.uni-mate.hu/introduction2 ).
Wild plants are also sustainable food sources. There is an educational trail on edible and collectible wild plants in Soroksár Botanical Garden. The aim is to provide a professional opportunity for students and those interested in nature to learn more about wild and edible plant species. The trail will provide a safe and professionally authentic way for everyone to learn more about the edible plants of our country's flora by visiting the living plant material. The educational trail is part of the 60-hectare Botanical Garden located in the XXIII. district of Budapest.
In 2020, the SZIA Agroecological Garden at MATE was founded through a student initiative, applying agroecological principles and addressing the food system as a whole. The garden emphasizes the social dimension of agroecology, focusing on providing access to fresh, healthy, and diverse food, fostering a strong student community, and promoting the creation and exchange of knowledge and food culture.
MATE Farm Enterprise Ltd. is a university‑owned enterprise of MATE, established to manage the university’s practical farms and training facilities. The enterprise also operates a game park, processing plant, a winery, a restaurant, a guesthouse where customers can find reasonable prices.
