VISION
[This] is a flourishing place to co-create and connect to a local food system. This is secure, sustainable, healthy and fair.
[This place] will reflect and celebrate
intercultural diversity, where all are welcome and included for generations to come.
OBJECTIVES
Kirsty Moegerlein, documenting the Alphington Community Food Hub Visioning Day, May 25th, 2017
1. To inspire and break new ground in the collaborative stewardship of a transformative and innovative food hub
2. To establish an inclusive and equitable place for many groups and organisations to grow, share, make, learn about and eat healthy and fair food
3. To support and incubate a growing diversity of local food enterprises and social businesses
Summary of the Green Hat discussions, recorded by Kirsty Moegerlein
“We are committed to making this [food-hub] a reality. This is not just an opportunity to come together and talk but to get something happening in a very substantive and significant way that benefits not just this community, but everyone. That is our commitment and our aspiration”
Nick Rose, Sustain: The Australian Food Network
On May 25th, 47 people representing 43 institutions and organisations came together at the Alphington Bowls Club to co-create a shared vision and set of objectives for a multi-functional, multi-stakeholder community food hub for the residents and communities of the City of Darebin. The event was supported by a small grant from the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation, and coordinated by Sustain, in partnership with Melbourne Farmers Markets, STREAT, the City of Darebin and 3000 acres.
To read the overview of the day, click here: FoodHubVisioningDay_Overview_May2017
Darebin Mayor Kim Le Cerf welcomed participants to the day, Councillor Trent McCarthy was one of the participants together with a number of City of Darebin staff. We were also joined by Councillor Natalie Abboud from the City of Moreland, which recently endorsed its Food Systems strategy and is soon to begin a feasibility study for a community food hub in the Fawkner area, as well as Councillor Jen Alden from the City of Greater Bendigo, which is also in planning stages for a community food hub.
The day was facilitated by Max Hardy, who offered these reflections:
It was my privilege to work with an amazing group of people, representing many different organisations, yet sharing a passion for growing food locally and tackling a range of related issues.
We used De Bono’s thinking hats as a way of thinking about the future in a range of ways. Hats were in short supply so we used wigs instead! The energy was high throughout the session; palpably high! Some groups elected to work outside, and volunteers ran messages to our talented graphic recorder, Kirsty, who helped to capture the story as it unfolded.
Overall there was a very strong sense of occasion, and opportunity. It was not difficult for participants to appreciate the benefit of working more intentionally together, and sharing a space for this.
Most participants accepted this was about strengthening a movement; a very worthwhile movement. It is unlikely that any site would be ‘perfect’ and so this opportunity should be seized and acted upon.
It was a pleasure to facilitate the session and I look forward to see how the story continues to unfold. In my experience when sessions like this, where there is so much energy and shared aspirations, that things are never quite the same. Things will happen and the movement will grow.
In the wake of the Visioning Day, Melbourne Farmers Markets received an allocation from the City of Darebin in its 2017/18 budget to allocate $50,000 towards the further development of the community food hub, and Sustain has continued to work with STREAT, MFM and 3000 acres in the submission of an application for start-up funding to the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation.
This is a very exciting opportunity for the food movement in Victoria and nationally, and our hope is that it will inspire and enable similar initiatives all over the state.