Good, clean and fair food for all!
Good, clean and fair food for all!
Joins us (2pm to 6pm) on the first and third Thursday of the month in The Levee for a "paddock to plate" experience at Maitland's Slow Food Earth Market. June to December dates are published on this page. Alternatively, ask our stallholders...
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Yes, you asked for it - pre-packed boxes of local produce are now available at our Earth Market. We are excited to be announcing this initiative that has been so sought-after from market-goers. Boxes will be available for $35 from the...
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The next general meeting is on 3 July. Our general meetings are held every second month with executive-only meetings held in the alternate months. For a full list of all scheduled meetings (general and committee meetings) in 2018 please see...
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Enjoy this day-long social gathering at local blacksmith Will Maguire’s workshop at Branxton. The local community and general public are invited to bring along worn or damaged (metal) items of some intrinsic value in need of repair. A group of...
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Our Terra Madre Scholarship winners have been announced. Our Terra Madre Chef Scholarship winner is Thomas Boyd. Our Terra Madre Earth Market Scholarship winner is Liam Dennis. Our Terra Madre Young Farmer Scholarship winner is Leisha Parkinson from Hamilton (see full details here).
Slow Food Hunter Valley volunteers have been raising money to support the Buy a Bale Hunter Appeal for our local farmers. According to the Maitland Mercury “The Maitland Mercury, Newcastle Herald, Hunter Valley News and The Scone Advocate have joined forces with the charity Rural Aid and its Buy A Bale Campaign to help Hunter farmers as they fight to survive the dry conditions” (see full details here).
Check out our Pumpkin World page. We are currently building a long list of pumpkins (many of which are grown around Maitland) and the qualities of those pumpkins. If you want to add to this page or send your special pumpkin recipe, feel free to email us (check our Contact Us page).
Want to join us as a member, volunteer or become a friend on our mailing list? See our Membership page.
In 2016 we rescued acres of pumpkins that were destined to be ploughed into the ground. The pumpkins were gathered by Slow Food Hunter Valley volunteers and sold via a pumpkin pop-up stall in the Levee in Maitland’s main street. The participation of our local farmers, the support of Maitland City Council, the reaction of the media and the amazing response of locals (far and wide) meant hundreds of tonnes of pumpkins did not go to waste. This proves that together we can fix our food system.
At Slow Food Hunter Valley – in just one year – we turned 704 kg of fresh food into nutritional meals for the local community centre. The food is distributed to locals who are finding it difficult to make ends meet. This process is made possible through donations from local farmers, home gardeners with excess produce, and Greenhills Fresh Grocer. As many as seventeen Slow Food Hunter Valley volunteers have helped with the preparation and cooking at the Reader’s Cafe in East Maitland.
To encourage farmers and chefs in and around the Hunter Valley to focus on – and work with – local, seasonal produce we offer a scholarship to Turin, Italy to attend the bi-annual Terra Madre (Mother Earth) event. In 2016 Tom Christie, a local small-scale farmer, was the winner of the inaugural scholarship. The experience provided Tom with exposure to a wealth of knowledge from farmers across the globe and enabled him to realise the potential of small-scale farming. This scholarship will be open again in 2018.
Slow Food Hunter Valley continues to support school gardens such as the Telarah Public School who runs a Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program. The garden provides 130 children access a two-hour program each fortnight. As the program has matured, the teaching focus in the classes has widened to include applied learning in maths, science and English. It also engages parents who volunteer in the program and includes all student teachers who are rostered on for a turn in the garden.
Fresh food is still achievable even in remote outback communities. In Central Australia, Slow Food Hunter Valley is partnering with Watarrka Foundation and working with local Indigenous leaders and schools to grow fresh food. The supplies fresh produce to locals who would otherwise have to travel up to 600km (one-way) to buy what can be grown in their own back yard. Our Fresh Food in Remote Communities project has been ongoing for three years.
Slow Food Hunter Valley is made up of everyday people who, together, realise they can do a lot of great things that make a difference. And from time-to-time, a we even do a few extraordinary things. You too can make a difference. In fact, everyone can make a difference. Your contribution, regardless of how large or small, helps. So become a member, volunteer, come to a Talking Dinners event, attend our meetings, or make a donation. Whatever you can do, it all makes a difference.
As a devastating drought continues to impact Hunter Valley - and other NSW - farmers, Slow Food volunteers in the Hunter region...
On ABC' Women's Work, read about how Amorelle Dempster turned a field of muddy pumpkins into a slow food revolution.
Our friends at Warners Bay Community Garden Inc. volunteered to turn several boxes of donated aprons into bags that can be used...
The Tocal Field Days were held on May 5, 6 and 7 this year. Slow Food Hunter Valley was engaged to look after...
