Not sure?  Well Byron Shire Council has produced a new Sustainable Food Business Directory to help encourage residents and visitors to shop locally and purchase sustainably.

Council’s sustainability officer Graeme Williams said the Sustainable Food Business Directory lists local food-related businesses and community enterprises that are embracing the transition to a low carbon economy.

“From small local businesses to the Shire’s highly regarded Farmers’ Markets, the handy pocket sized guide is a great snapshot of what to buy where.

“Businesses are listed by location and include icons to help shoppers easily identify how the business is contributing to the Shire’s sustainability,” he said.

Copies of the guide can be downloaded here.

On Saturday the 2nd July, the mobile Nimbin Community Grain Mill was officially launched as part of the First Birthday Celebrations of the Blue Knob Farmers Market.

The Community Grain Mill is an initiative of Neighbourhood and Information Centre’s Food Security Project, and is funded by Food Links. The Farmers Markets has also been supported by the Food Links funds.

The availability of the Mill to the Nimbin community will:

Provide processing capacity to enable locals to experiment with growing different types of grains.

Encourage locals to purchase whole grains grown locally or in our neighbouring bio-regions to strengthen our local food security.

Provide access to nutritionally high-value milled grain products.

Enable storage of grains across the community increasing our grain and food security.

Help to raise awareness of our Food Security issues and particularly our most significant vulnerability.

According to Natalie Meyer, Team Leader of NNIC, “Grain is Nimbin bio- region’s biggest food security weakness as we do not produce many grain or legumes in our bioregion yet our diets are high in grain-based products. Thus our local diet is high in food miles & fossil-fuel-based inputs.”

“Processed grains, especially in the form of flours, have a poor shelf life & much of the nutritional value is lost by the time we consume it. Freshly milled grain has significantly higher nutritional value than stored processed grains.”

“To increase our food security we need to experiment with growing grains locally and develop locally adapted varieties of suitable grains. (Local progress has been made in relation to dry-land rice). Trial growers will be able to access the mill to assist with this.”

“We have also identified the need to improve whole grain storage capacity for our community. Rather than siloing large quantities of whole grain, which is problematic in a humid climate, local people will be able to instead store small quantities of whole grains at home (e.g. in 44 gal drums), in the knowledge that they will be able to access the community mill at a variety of locations to mill their own grains as they need to use them”.

Mara Seeds Field Day Invitation

The focus of the project is to secure local produce, grown in the Northern Rivers, for supply to local restaurants, retailers and families and with this grow the demand for local produce across the region.

The team at Fruitos are contacting and meeting with local producers who are looking to be part of the intra-region distribution model and looking to be part of the team reducing food miles and contributing to improvements to our environment through the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions associated with the transportation of food.

“We are really proud to be contributing to one of the key overall NRFL project objectives by supporting a reduction in transportation costs and greenhouse gas emissions through shortening the food supply and distribution system in the Northern Rivers.   We are just as pleased however, to be providing benefits that come from establishing this connection between local growers and consumers that go beyond reducing gas emissions such as fresher produce to all customers in the region’s fresh food network, presumably cheaper produce for all end consumers due to cost savings, reduced wastage, supporting local economies and communities, improved grower cashflow, saving growers time and related overhead costs and a better monetary return to the producers,” says Sam Stewart, a Fruito’s Director.

If you grow local food and you are interested in seeing local food stay local through the Intra-region Distribution Project Model then please email localfood@northernriversfoodlinks.com.au with your contact details and the produce you grow (with an indication of quantity).

Northern Rivers Food Links Documentary

Due to the innovative nature of the NRFL project, both in its outcomes and delivery, the project management team has received recommendation to produce a documentary. This will ensure a long-term legacy, which highlights the lessons learnt, the processes followed and the project model development and implementation. The NRFL documentary will deliver a number of specific outcomes.

·      To motivate change.

·      To educate and inform specific and targeted audiences.

·      Provide project-modeling information.

·      To showcase best practice projects.

Application

The NRFL documentary will be used as a presentation tool for conferences, via remote and face-to-face delivery. It will also become an educational resource for Local Government and community groups.

Rationale

The motivation for the documentary is to educate audiences about food security challenges and solutions, by profiling a regional project model that has undertaken a multifaceted and innovative approach to food security.

Audience

The intended audience for the documentary will be comprised of Local Government, Community Organisations, Education Facilities and Funding Bodies.

Byron Sustainable Food Guide

Many businesses, residents, community groups and workplaces in the Byron Shire Local Government Area have a strong commitment to sustainable food practices. This has been enhanced through the recent efforts of the Northern Rivers Food Links Project. As an initiative under Council’s adopted Greenhouse Action Strategy, Byron Shire Council is proposing to develop a Byron Shire Sustainable Food Directory.

The Directory will serve as a key economic development initiative under Byron Shire Council’s Economic Development Strategy and the Northern Rivers Regional Business Growth Plan by promoting and facilitating sustainable consumption practices across the Byron Shire. The Directory will seek to compile existing information available in the community into a single local directory of businesses and community enterprises that support sustainable food practices. The Directory will contain accompanying educative information with various hints and tips on socially and environmentally responsible food choices, including concepts such as ‘food miles’.

The Directory will exist as both a hardcopy (pocket-size) and online download. Locations of participating sustainable businesses and community enterprises will be displayed on an A3- sized, Shire-wide map, with the inclusion of a photo and brief business profile (approx. 30 words). The Directory will be distributed in the community at tourist outlets and participating businesses, as well as being available on Council’s web site and customer service centre.

Further announcements about additional Discretionary Projects will become available as contracts are finalised, so please check back regularly for more information.

For more information please contact Village Showcase Coordinator, Kim Potter on 88863972.

Food Production and Distribution in Indigenous Communities

The NRFL project management team is excited to announce that a project has been selected for the Food Production and Distribution in Indigenous Communities. We look forward to providing further details about the project once contracts have been finalised.

For more information please contact Village Showcase Coordinator, Kim Potter on 88863972.

Distribution Projects

Northern Rivers Farmers Market Network Facilitator

The Northern Rivers Food Links Project Business Plan identified Distribution Projects as a major project focus area and a number of localized distribution models have been initiated with project partners to shorten food supply chains across the region.

In addition to this we seek to support the establishment, capacity building and growth of local farmers markets in the region through improved communication and greater collaboration in terms of sharing of knowledge and resources.

Northern Rivers Farmers Markets are an important social, economic and environmental contribution to the region and local communities.  They promote regional agriculture by providing a broad scale of farming pursuits and an opportunity to sell locally grown, caught, foraged and value added products directly to consumers.

This distribution model also provides local communities with access to the freshest, most nutritious locally grown food the region has to offer. Consumers experience the taste of fresher food (on the day of harvest or the day after) and along with our environment, reap the benefits of this shortened food supply chain.

A facilitator has been engaged to work with the Northern Rivers Farmers Market groups across the region to assist with increased connectedness of producers, which may also lead to new markets and increased sustainability for local producers.  Some of the activities being undertaken will include network forums, improved internet presence and promotion via the Sustain Food website and communications solutions for improved knowledge sharing.

For more information contact the Regional Project Officer, Jane Laverty on 0412 647 002

“Farmers’ markets have been identified as a major food distribution point in the region,” said FoodLinks regional project officer Jane Laverty.

“In regards to food security and people being able to access food, farmers’ markets were way up there in importance.”
The importance of food security was highlighted by the recent floods in Queensland’s food bowl, with Treasurer Wayne Swan warning of a spike in checkout prices.

Ms Laverty said the part-time consultant would work with the various market committees to determine if more markets were needed and whether some should relocate to larger sites to meet demand from farmers who want to sell their produce.

“Across the region the markets are all set up differently and have been operating for different lengths of time,” Ms Laverty said.

“We realise we aren’t in a position to tell markets how they should operate, but we can help facilitate them to work with each other and share their knowledge.”

She said a recent survey of local households found that, on average, they shopped for food four times a week.
While it would be impractical to encourage consumers to only shop at farmers’ markets, Ms Laverty said FoodLinks wanted to encourage people to consider markets as a viable option.

The president of the Byron Farmers’ Market, John Aitkin, yesterday welcomed the appointment of a consultant, which should be finalised by week’s end.

“It’s definitely a good idea,” he said. “Part of the funding is for coordination and to try and bring the markets together.”

Mr Aitkin said recent expansion at New Brighton and Mullumbimby markets had been very successful.
He said while the Byron market had five vacant stalls, it was important to encourage more farmers to apply so that co-ordinating committees could ensure a good mix between stallholders.

http://www.northernstar.com.au/story/2011/01/31/lismore-food-market/?utm_source=rss+northernstar&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS+distribution

The Councillor, the Cook and the Kid

Forget the  sausage sambos and Pluto pups, because at this year’s Lismore Show you could seriously indulge your inner foodie at the new Country Energy Cooking Stage.

Sometimes serious, sometimes humorous and always delicious, the program included three days of cooking demonstrations, competitions, tastings and talks keeping food lovers engaged and entertained all weekend.

One of the highlights was the Councillor, the Cook and the Kid Cook Off, when a local councillor, a cook and a kid  faced off in the open-air kitchen in an Iron Chef-style competition.

The three competitors were given a mystery local food ingredient and then the trio had half an hour to create a delicious dish, that was tasted and judged by one lucky audience member!

The Councillor, the Cook and the Kid- Cook Off!

Demonstration Garden and the Grow Your Own Challenge

Garden Guru Phil Dudman even established a demonstration food garden of seasonal produce to show people how easy it is to grow their own food. Growing your own food is a rewarding experience that is fun, easy to do and wonderful for your overall health and wellbeing. Northern Rivers Food Links is currently running the Grow Your Own Food Challenge and it’s not too late to register.

Demonstration Garden