A NEW website promoting locally sourced food will be the key ingredient in a week-long challenge encouraging people to think about where their meals come from.
The ‘Local Harvest’ website makes it easy for people to find farmers markets, farm produce, community gardens, organic retailers, food swaps and organic cafes and restaurants.
Footscray resident Nick Ray got involved with the Local Harvest project through his role with the Ethical Consumer Group.
“I’m passionate about this project because so much of our food is controlled by a small number of large multinational companies, and it doesn’t have to be that way,” he says.
Launched at the Sustainable Living Festival last month, the website has received positive feedback ahead of the Local Harvest Challenge Week from April 1-7.
The concept of the challenge is to connect people across the country using the website to source ideas and inspiration. “It’s really one week where we invite people to come on board and start thinking intentionally about food choices and for a week take on some challenges,” Mr Ray says.
“The beauty of the website is you can punch in your postcode and you can choose your radius and see what is around you and make the choice of what to follow up.”
The Transition Hobsons Bay group has also been involved in the project.
The group’s Kate Leslie says it envisages a future with more home-grown and local food.
“I think you enjoy your food more if you know its story or can put a face to the producer.”
The group has about 150 members who aim to develop ways to make low-energy living fun with such initiatives as food swaps.
Residents can support growers at one of the Hobsons Bay’s farmers markets, by using food co-ops such as Newport Organic Collective and Grasslands in Footscray, home-produce swap meets in Altona or the community garden in Laverton.
To register for the Local Harvest Challenge Week, visit localharvest.org.au/challenge.
