This World Food Day (16 October) and in the days around it, Australians are taking part in Oxfam’s Eat Local Feed Global to help fight hunger and poverty overseas. Sophie from The Buzz garden blog is one person who held an activity this year to raise funds for Oxfam’s life changing work to help small scale farmers feed themselves and their communities.
By Sophie Gebhardt
I decided to take part in Eat Local Feed Global this year after I read some of the stories about activities from from the previous years. I run The Buzz, a blog which focuses on local food production and related issues, such as climate change and the industrialised agricultural system. The Buzz Garden Party seemed like a great opportunity to meet some of my blogs followers in the flesh, exchange locally grown food, and highlight the fact that so many in the world don’t have access to fresh healthy food. Most people brought along food that they’d grown and/or cooked, and the selection was truly delicious.
By taking part in Eat Local Feed Global we were able to raise awareness for food justice and encourage people to think more carefully about their role in the global food system. We also decided to raise money for Oxfam’s life changing work empowering small scale farmers to feed themselves and their communities.
People brought home-grown eggs, leeks, rhubarb, cabbages and preserves. I’d made lots of Kumquat Marmalade with kumquats from a neighbour’s tree and a friend donated jars of Quince Jelly. There were also tomato, water chestnut and carrot seedlings that I’d propagated and potted up. All of this was available for a donation, and most of it walked out the door.
Even though the weather was very Melbourne (rain, sun, rain, wind, rain), the 30+ people who came along had a fantastic time and some great connections were made. Most importantly, we raised over $400 for Oxfam and enjoyed a feast of locally grown and homemade food. (A number of the recipes from the day are on The Buzz, with more being posted over time.)
