Good, clean and fair food for all!
Good, clean and fair food for all!
Joins us (12.30pm to late afternoon) on the first and third Thursday of the month in The Levee for a "paddock to plate" experience at Maitland's Slow Food Earth Markets. From 1 Nov the Earth Markets will move west (1 block along...
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It's on again! Our November Food for Change Challenge! Join a global effort to reduce climate change by eating less meat and more legumes, nuts and seeds. You are invited to take up the Slow Food Food for Change challenge this...
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Commit Your Surplus Produce - you will be "Feeding Our Future" [caption id="attachment_2573" align="alignleft" width="225"] Terry from East Maitland provided a treasure trove of vegetables this morning (6 Dec).[/caption] On Thursday, 6 December we will be accepting any fresh produce...
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Today Peakes Mini Bus Hire has offered us the use of a trailer (free of charge) to help us transport the last drought-relief food boxes (before Christmas) to the Upper Hunter. The use of the trailer was a very generous (and gratefully accepted) “gift”. We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to Sharon at Peakes Mini Bus Hire because it is these gestures that – although they can appear quite small to the gift-giver – make all the difference.
But wait! There’s more. We have had 8 dozen eggs donated for our “Fresh Produce for a Farmer’s Christmas” initiative.
Help us by donating any excess produce on the 6th December. We will use the produce to fill boxes for farmers in the drought-affected Upper Hunter region. For full details see our Fresh Produce for a Farmer’s Christmas 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...
