Local Food Procurement: The Opportunity Whose Time Has Come
Leah Galvin discusses local food procurement as a lever to drive food system change.
Author: Leah Galvin
Leah Galvin has a background in public health nutrition with a passion for equitable and sustainable regional food systems.
For the last 20 years Leah has worked in a variety of settings including state and local government and not for profit sector, delivering projects and campaigns to reduce barriers to eaters enjoying local healthy food. In 2019 she was awarded a Churchill Fellowship to investigate approaches used by business and government to increase institutional procurement of locally produced food.
Her interest in institutional procurement is driven by as desire to pull the big levers, that can re-localise food systems at scale in Tasmania and Australia. Eight years ago, with her family she moved from central Victoria to Tasmania because of its food abundance and at the time its excellent Food Security Strategy.
After 3 years leading Eat Well Tasmania, in September of 2020 she returned to freelancing and consulting and is currently working on projects around on-farm seasonal work, exploring a Huon Valley Food hubs and local approaches connecting eaters and producers.