Go Local Ballarat - Local Food Week

It was a real honour a few months back to be invited to be part of the working

group behind Go Local Ballarat - a whole week dedicated to local food events and discussions, inspired by the Transition Towns concept which is flourishing around the world in response to growing pressures on communities as Peak Oil looms. I'm still learning about the whole Transition concept - but as far as I see it so far, it's crucial that we start taking positive action (starting at the local level) that will help create stronger, happier and more resilient communities.

Food is such a huge part of all of our lives and it's relatively simple to start making small changes that can lead to some pretty big outcomes. So for the first Go Local Ballarat week - Local Food became the focus.

Imagine a Ballarat where we all value the role of local farmers and producers and support their businesses every time we go shopping by choosing products grown as close to home as possible, using the most sustainable methods of production.

Imagine a Ballarat where community gardens and public food forests flourish, so fresh seasonal produce can be enjoyed by all - not just those with enough money to buy premium organic produce.

Imagine a Ballarat where backyards are overflowing with the bounty of the seasons - where families and communities come together to grow, cook and share the fruits of their labour.

Yesterday the Go Local Ballarat Local Food Week kicked off with the first ever BREAZE Local Produce Swap at Smart Living Ballarat in Lydiard Street. A handful of enthusiastic gardeners traded produce grown in their backyards or swapped excess produce harvested in the local area.

BREAZE Local Produce Swap @ Smart Living Ballarat

Prickly Pears

Walnuts, Chestnuts, Seedlings and Herbs for swapping

One of the highlights of Local Food Week will no doubt be the Local Produce Dinner at the Lydiard Wine Bar on Tuesday night (April 17th) where head chef and owner Damien Jones and chef Andy Beyerle (and member of the Ballarat Permaculture Guild) will transform produce sourced from various backyard plots, the Ballarat Community Garden and local producers into a unique and memorable food experience.

While helping the chefs source local produce, I went to visit local farmer Max whose passion is pumpkins. I think from now on I'll just call him Max the Amazing Pumpkin Man of Ballarat.

The second official event of Local Food Week was this afternoon's Preserving Seasonal Produce Workshop. . .presented by the BREAZE Local Food Group, the Ballarat Community Garden and Ballarat Community Health. So inspiring to have more than twenty people spend their Sunday learning some of the tricks and techniques of Fowler's preserving and relish making - with who better to pass on some family secrets than my Mum, who came all the way from the Adelaide Hills to help co-ordinate the workshop. Thanks Mum!

Preserving Seasonal Produce Workshop (my Mum Anne in the floral apron).

There's plenty more fantastic Go Local Events to take part in throughout the week - culminating in Saturday's 'Open Space Forum' at the Eastwood Leisure Centre at 10am where the whole question of 'How Will Ballarat Feed Itself in 2020?' will be thrashed out. So if you eat and you live in the Ballarat region and would like a say in how we all help shape the future of food in this unique city - come along on Saturday and be part of the conversation.

For details head to the Smart Living Ballarat website. www.smartlivingballarat.org.au/golocal/