Stories From: Food & Drink

As global food insecurity increases, research suggests that the ‘planetary health diet’ is one solution. This calls for a shift towards a plant-based diet and more local food production. Local social enterprise Farm it Forward is showing how this can be done in school yards and one backyard after another.

Healthier for us and better for the planet and purse, plant-based food is trending. A local expert can show you how to turn plant foods into mouth-watering creations. 

Take a tour of the Gang Gang Farmers Market in Lithgow, meet some stallholders and whet your appetite for their Spring re-opening.

Second-hand bookstore and social enterprise RoseyRavelston has moved to Lawson-town. While the core of their business remains the same, the move has prompted adaptation and diversification, which has opened up new collaborations and opportunities for the business and the community.

Volunteering offers mutual benefits for the helper and those helped. Along with a sense of empowerment, purpose and contribution, it can give us skills for the workforce, new friends and social connection. While this list is by no means exhaustive, it offers a wide range of options for where to help out in our local community.

Led by First Nations students and community, Blaxland High School has established a native food garden and students are using crops grown in the garden as ingredients in food technology classes. The school received injections of expertise from many quarters including an Aboriginal-owned social enterprise to learn about and embrace the use of native plants for cooking and sustainability.

The Country Women’s Association is known for selling scones and crafts at kerbside stalls, but is less known for being one of the largest lobby and environment activist groups in Australia. There are local branches in Glenbrook, Leura and Blackheath.

Maligned through the ages for their association with witchcraft, disease, drug use and poisonings, the fungus kingdom is gaining due credit thanks to ecologists, photographers and foragers.

Blackheath Public School is providing hands-in-the-dirt lessons on how the students can make their school more sustainable. Students will soon be eating spinach and cheese scrolls made by the canteen using garden produce.

Maligned through the ages for their association with witchcraft, disease, drug use and poisonings, the fungus kingdom is gaining due credit thanks to ecologists, photographers and foragers.