Community Food Events December 2020 Webinar Series

Wed, 25 Nov 2020

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Following on from the Food for Thought Festival (FFTF) Innovation Lab discussions that were cancelled earlier in the year, in response to COVID-19 pandemic, Sustain: The Australian Food Network (Sustain) is working with its West Australian, South Australian, New South Wales, Victorian and Tasmanian partners to reactivate this important conversation around “Courageous Leadership Enabling Systems Change” and the future of Australia’s food system.

This December, Australia will, for the first time, have the opportunity to learn directly from the leaders of the organisation responsible for the implementation of the Vermont Farm to Plate plan—by many accounts one of the most comprehensive and long-term food and farming system programs of its kind.
For more details visit the Sustain: The Australian Food Network Webpage.
COVID-19 has highlighted the vulnerabilities and inequities of global and national food systems. Even as Australia was repeatedly reassured of the security of its food supply, in 2020 we’ve seen panic buying that emptied supermarket shelves, rising rates of unemployment and food insecurity, and a disproportionately affected migrant seasonal workforce. With the critical challenges of climate change at our doorstep, and rapidly rising costs of dietary-related ill-health, the integrity of our food and farming systems demands our attention.

Across three webinars, Farm to Plate Program Director Jake Claro and Network Manager Sarah Danly will discuss how the decade-old program, recently renewed for a further ten years, has successfully increased employment, business creation and food security through collaborative, whole-of-system actions and networking, aligned to a shared agenda of a better food and farming system for Vermont. They will be joined by practitioners and policy makers from across Australia who will share state and local initiatives, and discuss how the Vermont approach might be applied to an Australian context.
Webinar 1 - Vermont Farm to Plate Plan: from 2009 to 2020 and Beyond
Dec 2 11AM - 1PM AEST (8AM - 10AM AWST) Register for free here

Webinar 2 - Planning for Sustainable Farming and Healthy Food Access
Dec 9 11AM - 1PM AEST (8AM - 10AM AWST) Purchase tickets here

Webinar 3 - How the Public Purse Can Drive Food Systems Change: The Role of Institutional Procurement
Dec 16 11AM - 1PM AEST (8AM - 10AM AWST) Purchase tickets here
Everyone involved in our food systems —including producers, policy-makers, food businesses, community organisations, statutory and strategic planners, health service professionals, sustainability professionals, food security organisations and networks, educators and researchers—is invited to attend.

For those interested some suggested pre-reading material:
The webinar series is organised by Sustain: The Australian Food Network and supported by VicHealth, Commonland, University of Wollongong, SA Urban Food Network, Eat Well Tasmania, Gateway Health, RegenWA, Food for Thought, Cardinia Shire Council, Community Food Events, Community Food for All, Albury Wodonga Local Food Network, Plan-It Rural, and Leah Galvin Consulting.
For further information, media assets or interview requests, please contact Arianna Lim, Communications and Strategy Support Officer Sustain, arianna@sustainaustralia.org.

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