Sustain finds solutions that create a food system which provides a fair price to farmers, cares for our ecosystems and is accessible for all people.
Urban agriculture - growing food in suburbs and cities, in backyards and balconies, on verges and in schools - is crucial in mitigating the impacts of climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the rising cost of living.
Oakhill Food Justice Farm is a 'Food is free' Initiative. Volunteers at Oakhill take home super fresh and healthy veg and herbs to feed friends and family, and the rest of the harvest is donated to local food relief in collaboration with Darebin Information Volunteer Resource Service (DIVRS).
Good people tackling wicked problems
Systemic change requires us to bring people together, talk about big ideas, create new policy, and empower local action. In addition to connecting government, academics and producers, we are working in our local community to change our food system.
We’re improving kids’ food systems literacy with the Preston Primary Passata Patch Program! 700 students are participating in a year-long, hands-on food growing education program with Oakhill Farmers Jemma and Shani. Students come to the farm each term and take part in each step of the food growing process: composting and preparing garden beds to growing tomatoes and eventually making passata! We also incorporate food justice and local Aboriginal plant use and seasons into the curriculum, to improve kids’ food system literacy. This is educating the next generation, as well as their friends and family.
Support paid internships break down barriers to food growing for young people experiencing disadvantage.
This week our first interns started their month-long journey to learn to turn lawn into food. These paid internships give young people experiencing barriers to education and employment supported pathways into urban agriculture, connection, and food systems literacy.
We were overwhelmed with worthy applications, and we want to roll out more paid training opportunities for people new to urban farming to learn how to turn lawn into food. We are scoping more space for more urban agriculture education to create more opportunities in Alphington and Bundoora.
We want to expand this program to people experiencing disadvantage at any age, and develop more unused urban land into urban farms for community food growing.
If you have the means, please support Sustain to continue our work creating sustainable food systems and food justice.
