Sydney Food Fairness Alliance
working towards food security and sustainable food systems
TIME FOR... A FOOD POLIC Y The Sydney Food Fairness Alliance experience... The story of Hungry For Change, the Sydney Food Fairness Alliance’s Food summit
This paper was produced for the Plains To Plate Food Convergence in Adelaide, South Australia, in February 2010 by Russ Grayson.
THROUGH 2009, discussion within the Sydney Food Fairness Alliance (SFFA) revealed that a food policy developed by a food council and adopted by state government would be the most effective means of Sydney and other centres achieving a sustainable, affordable and to some extent a local food supply. The decision was made to organise a food summit to start the move towards formation of a food council and to identify food issues in the greater Sydney region. Councils first to take the lead SFFA organisers were aware of food policies in cities such as Vancouver and of a couple food policies that had been introduced by local government in the Sydney region.
What we want to retain for our food security: in sight of the city skyline, urban agriculture continues in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs. The photo shows three family owned commercial market gardens in Randwick LGA. There are a further three in nearby Rockdale LGA. They are similar to those out on the urban fringe.
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A lot of work
The inner urban South Sydney Council (now absorbed into the City of Sydney) and outer urban Penrith had introduced food policies in the late-1990s. For their time, these were innovative and pioneering documents. What’s Eating South Sydney—the South Sydney Council policy—noted that parts of the local government area (LGA) constituted ‘food deserts’ lacking retail and other sources of fresh food. It also proposed Council support for community food gardens and food co-operatives. It was this policy that enabled Council assistance to community gardens in the LGA including those on social housing estates.
SFFA organisers soon realised that planning and running a food summit would be a big undertaking for a voluntary association. Most active members worked during the day, making it necessary to squeeze summit organisation into their free hours. Some, however, were able to include the organisation of the Food Summit in their working hours. Closer to the Summit, an SFFA member was employed for several days a week to bring together the Food Summit.
An achievable format After much discussion, the format chosen was that of a well-publicised launch event followed by a series of lead-up events through the greater Sydney region. Following these events, the Summit itself
Food Summit project timeline SUMMIT
Hungry For Change Food Summit Future Food Forum Campbelltown
Regional event
Central Coast lead-up event
SUMMIT PROCESS
Regional event
Regional event
Blue Mountains lead-up event
Regional event
Inner urban / city east lead-up event
Regional event
Illawarra lead-up event Hidden Hunger in the Lucky Country — launch of the food summit, NSW Parliament House
Launch
Conception & planning
2008
May 2009
June 2009
July 2009
August 2009 September 2009 October 2009
TIME
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would be held late in 2009. The program would cover a six month period.
Launch The launch event, entitled Hidden Hunger in the Lucky Country, took place in the Parliament House theaterette in May 2009. The event attracted a full house of approximately 150 people and gained media coverage. Speakers included Sydney’s Lord Mayor, Clover Moore, Sydney urban fringe farmers and others.
Lead-up The five lead-up events, which started in July and concluded close to the Summit, were intended to highlight the situation influencing the Sydney metropolitan region’s food system and to harvest information to be fed into the food summit later in the year. The lead-up events took place in the: § Illawarra, which includes the coastal cities of Wollongong and Port Kembla immediately south of Sydney; there, the event was organised by an allied local group, Food Fairness Illawarra; featured as keynote speaker was Dr Rosemary Stanton OAM who highlighted the need to balance nutrition and health with environmental sustainability and food literacy § Macarthur region of south-western Sydney, the location of some of the foodlands that feed the city with perishable produce § Blue Mountains, the upland region west of the city § Central Coast, north of the metropolitan area § inner city/city east region adjacent to the CBD and extending into the Eastern Suburbs.
How lead-ups were organised The inner city/city east event provides an example of how lead-up events were organised. The support of the City of Sydney was gained in the form of the no-cost use of the Customs House building at Circular Quay as a non-monetary grant. Grants and support also came from Leichhardt, Randwick and Woollahra councils, the sustainability education staff of which cooperated with community-based organisations and SFFA in the organisation of the event. The lead-up was staged twice on the same day with each session open to all. It was thought that the afternoon session would attract people attending as part of their work and the repeat in the evening would enable the attendance of those who work during the day and for the general community. One of the speakers was Sydney Lord Mayor, Clover Moore, who had earlier spoke at the Parliament House launch in May. Her administration and she, personally, have been supportive of food initiatives is the city as they are compliant with the Sustainable Sydney 2030 plan. The keynote speaker was visiting US economist and attorney, Michael Shuman, of the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies. He linked local food systems Sustain UK’s Jeanette Longfield MBE (right) with food journalist, Joanna Savill, at the Hungry For Change Food Summit.
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with the development of resilient local economies. After Michael’s presentation, the participatory World Cafe process was employed to harvest information and the ideas of the audience-participants. As with other regional events, these were passed on to the Food Summit in October 2009. Details of recommendations of the regional events can be found on the SFFA website: www.sydneyfoodfairness.og.au
The Summit Held over two days in October 2009, the food summit—entitled Hungry For Change —attracted over 200 participants. Speakers included: § Lord Mayor of Sydney, Clover Moore § Flinders University School of Medicine’s John Coveney § food journalist Joanna Savill, manager of the Sydney International Food Festival § Josh Wyndham-Kidd, Australian Youth Climate Coalition § the NSW Department of Environment, Climate Change and Waters’ Bernard Carlon who spoke on NSW’s growing mountain of food waste § Sydney urban fringe farmer, Ed Biel § Planner and urban fringe farming advocate, Ian Sinclair. The keynote speaker was Jeanette Longfield MBE from the UK food education and advocacy organisation, Sustain, who spoke on food policies and described the UK’s experience with them.
Option Day two of the summit gave the option of: § staying at the conference centre to develop and deliver a declaration on food to the NSW Parliament § attending tours of the foodlands to the northwest and to the southwest of the city, visiting market gardens § a tour through the inner urban area and out to the Eastern Suburbs visiting community gardens, a workplace training institute for Aborigines preparing to join the hospitality industry, an apartment block food garden and Gordon Ha’s working market garden in the Eastern Suburbs (http://pacific-edge.info/foodtrail-to-the-far-east/). At the end of day two, the Food Summit Declaration was walked to Parliament House and handed to MPs. A number of media covered the event (http:// sydneyfoodfairness.org.au/food-summitdeclaration-2009/). The event, particularly the two weeks prior, attracted good media coverage including that of regional ABC Local Radio networks from as far afield as the Northern Tablelands and the Central West.
Another attendee, Nick Rose, came from an organisation that is similar to SFFA and is based in northern NSW, the Coffs Coast Local Food Futures Alliance.
Clover Moore, Lord Mayor of Sydney, at the Food Summit. Clover has appeared at a number of SFFA events.
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Sydney’s foodlands — places worth keeping Sydney already has a local supply of fresh, perishable foods thanks to more than 1000 market gardeners producing a range of vegetables in the agricultural lands of the Sydney Basin—the region between the Blue Mountains to the west, the sandstone uplands to the northwest and the broadacre agricultural lands of the Southern Highlands to the south-west. Located in the urban fringe zone of the Sydney Basin, Sydney’s foodlands consist primarily of two regions: § the inland coastal plain northwest of the metropolitan area, centred around the town of Richmond and drained by the Hawkesbury-Nepean rivers § the inland coastal plain southwest of the metropolitan area of which Campbelltown is the largest centre.
Google Maps maps.google.com.au
There are also a small number of market gardens within the suburbs of Sydney including three in the Rockdale LGA and the three cojoined market gardens adjacent to Botany Bay in Randwick LGA. These are remnants of a once-extensive urban
agriculture that fed the city and whose descendants are the market gardens, poultry enterprises and orchards of the outer urban/ rural fringe and nearby hinterland. Sydney’s regional food system: § occupies only 2.5 per cent of NSW, yet provides Sydney with much of its fresh food § produces around 85 percent of the city’s perishable vegetables § yields up to 80 percent of its mushroom supply § grows almost 100 percent of its Asian vegetables § accounts for up to 33 percent of NSW’s poultry production. Sydney’s food system: § is important to the viability of regional food markets and to the prosperity of the family farmers who manage the city fringe market gardens § produces a return of around $1 billion a year to farmers and produces a multiplier effect as the produce passes along the food supply and value chain to eaters, yielding an economic value to the industry as a whole of around $4.5 billion annually (Sydney Basin Industry Details — Gillespie, P, Mason, David NSW Agriculture, Orange 2003) § employs around 12,000 people § serves as an introduction to Australian working life for immigrants
Sydney’s foodlands... north-west sector south-west sector
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§ yields an average return per hectare to Sydney Basin farmers of $5433 (average return for NSW: $136 per hectare) (1997 ABS Agriculture, NSW Agriculture 2003) § for every million dollars of agricultural output, 22 agricultural jobs and 65 additional jobs linked to the sector are created (Australian Farm Institute report, March 2005). The Sydney Basin food system is important to the city’s food security and contributes significantly to the metropolitan economy. It is unfortunate that the NSW government’s Metropolitan Strategy proposes to develop an area the size of Canberra in the outer Sydney region on land presently occupied by around 50 percent of Sydney’s foodlands. At a time when scientists say that the NSW coastal plain is likely to remain moister than the inland, which is expected to become drier due to climate change, a more enlightened policy would explore ways to integrate urban development with agriculture while using state planning laws to protect the agricultural potential of the coastal plain.
Needed — land capability assessment and protection One idea to make a more rational use of Sydney’s urban fringe region, an idea driven by the common sense of developing a food secure future than merely the needs of urban development, would be for the state government to conduct a land capability assessment of Sydney’s foodlands and that: § land identified as prime agricultural be preserved in perpetuity for farming under state planning law § land identified as agriculturally marginal be considered for urban development or for other uses. While this is not SFFA policy, the idea enjoys the support of members and of others interested in the wellbeing of the city and its inhabitants in a future faced with climatic and energy uncertainties.
Community food initiatives (from left)... 1. Sydney Organic Buyers operates three groups in Sydney. 2. Inspecting a citrus in an inner urban edible kerbside planting.
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Something new—the community intervenes Starting quite some years ago but picking up momentum over the last few years as the security and quality of our food supply has become topical is community intervention in the production, distribution and marketing of food. This is now being done through a diverse array of community-based food organisations, small business, social enterprise and social business. Social enterprise can be thought of as not-for-profit businesses exemplified in the community food sector by food cooperatives. The there is for-profit business that supports socially beneficial community programs and is known as social business. Social businesses are those pursuing social goals as well as financial viability. The idea behind setting up social businesses to provide social goods and services was highlighted by the creator of the Grameen Bank
(www.grameen-info.org), Muhammad Yunus, during his 2010 appearance in Sydney. He pointed out the shortcomings of charity and the grant-dependence of community-based non-government organisations. Through the use of business practices, the social business model he described seeks to become self-funding and, thus, more independent of grant and charity. Community food systems are a citizen response to food supply influenced by: § the possible health impact of technological interventions in food production such as genetic engineering, food irradiation and nanotechnology § existing health concerns over the use of agricultural chemicals and their residues in food as well as their contamination of agricultural soils and waterways § climate change and the anticipated peaking in production of the global oil supply, and the impact these trends are likely to have on the food supply such as increasing cost and threatening its
food co-operatives community food buying groups focus: food security, access, production, health
food exchange/ food swap
COMMUNITY ENTERPRISE food alliances
community supported agriculture
EDUCATION, ADVOCACY special interest groups
COMMUNITY FOOD SYSTEMS communities feeding themselves
home food gardens links with local seed networks
community gardens
major trends
minor trends
grow-it-yourself
farmers' markets greengrocers
fresh food & organic markets
SMALL BUSINESS
small retail & organic food stores home delivery, including organic food
kerbside plantings guerrilla gardening garden share
DO-IT-YOURSELF
minor trends wild harvest
food mapping/ geolocation gleaning
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security § the loss of Sydney’s city fringe farmland to urban development and what this implies for the security of the city’s food system § the increasing popularity of local foods and the benefit of local/regional food supply chains to regional economies § affordable access to preferred foods that meet the food type, production and marketing criteria of eaters, such as foods preferred by cultural groups and organic food.
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The community food system — a typology
Build partnerships to move towards common goals
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Sydney’s community food system consists of a diverse and geographically distributed array of informal, small business and social enterprise models: § an approximate total of ten food cooperatives throughout the greater Community metropolitan area, with a new one, organisations Local government Rhubarb Food Co-op, planning to Institutions start in the Eastern Suburbs; these are essentially member-owned and not-forprofit social enterprises § local, informal, self-organised organic
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Ourselves The media The public
Educate
§ Community food interests Government Business Media
Build channels of communication
Provide credible information
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SYDNEY FOOD FAIRNESS ALLIANCE
food buying groups made up of friends or people living close to each other organised, formal ‘affordable’ organics buying groups such as those within the Sydney Organic Buyers Group system (http://www.organicbuyersgroup.org/) numerous organic and non-organic food home delivery services a fruit delivery service marketing to offices (www.thefruitbox.com.au) two community food swaps with small swaps at Food Connect weekly food box collection premises at least 25 community gardens, and probably more, where food is produced and that either exist or are in advanced planning; this estimate excludes community gardens on social housing estates and those in the Illawarra; the demand for community gardening opportunities is increasing and some local governments have responded by adopting enabling policies; the City of Sydney now employs a community garden liaison and the role is being incorporated by some other councils a new adaptation of the community supported agriculture model known as Sydney Food Connect, a social business that makes available a weekly food box of regionally-produced food, much of it organic or synthetic-chemical-feee (http://sydney.foodconnect.com.au/ — http://www.facebook.com/group. php?gid=98943980344) a number of farmer’s markets, including one started last year in the Sydney CBD, an initiative of the Lord Mayor (http:// www.farmersmarkets.org.au/finder/nsw. jsp)
Lobby decision makers
IDEAS for food advocates
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§ events such as the Chippendale Food for the Future fair (http://www. foodforthefuturefair.org/ — http:// pacific-edge.info/chippendale/).
The challenge now
For a young organisation the planning of the Hungry For Change Food Summit was as much a challenge as it was an encouraging success. The challenge for the SFFA in the coming period is to advance the ideas formulated in the Food Summit Declaration (http:// sydneyfoodfairness.org.au/food-summitdeclaration-2009/) and to influence and build on the continuing development of food as a social issue, a development already underway in the Sydney region and elsewhere in Australia. There are opportunities to do this through: § strategically lobbying state government and educating decision makers, both politicians and public servants § building partnerships with local government on food-related initiatives such as was started in the inner city/city east in the organisation of the lead-up events to the Food Summit § building channels of communication and partnerships with the expanding community food movement, where much of the pressure for change and the public discussion over Sydney’s food system is taking place § improving links with commercial and community-based media and positioning the Alliance as a credible commentator on food-related issues and as a source of reliable and authoritative information § providing credible, verifiable and timely information via the SFFA website (http://sydneyfoodfairness.org.au).
An idea whose time has come Encouraging since the SFFA Food Summit has been the Paddock To Plate Food Convergence in Adelaide and the call for expressions of interest in membership of the proposed Tasmanian Food Security Council. The draft food declaration coming from Plains To Plate echoes the direction set by the SFFA in formulating its own declaration. The Tasmanian food council initiative comes through a state government strategy, A Social Inclusion Strategy for Tasmania (2009) and is aimed at improving the food security of Tasmanians (http://communitygarden.org. au/tas_strategy). Adding to these moves towards food policies was the February call by horticultural industry body Growcom for a national food policy to address Australia’s growing population and the health of its people (www.growcom.com.au/home/news_detail. asp?newsID=359). This was largely exported oriented, and thus went in a different direction to the type of food policy envisioned by the SFFA and others pursuing food policies, however the fact that it was publicised suggests that more such calls may follow and raises the question for advocates of food policies of a state and national voice. The 2009 SFFA Food Summit, the 2010 Paddock To Plate Food Convergence, the Growcom statement and the Tasmanian government initiative indicate that the food security of our cities and towns is now an idea that has gained a timely currency and that the formation of food councils and the development of food policies offer a means to start the process of developing a legislative basis for urban food security.
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The terms of reference for the proposed Tasmanian Food Security Council include a definition of food security: Food security is the ability of individuals, households and communities to acquire food that is sufficient, reliable, nutritious, safe, acceptable and sustainable. Food insecurity happens when people go hungry, eat a poor quality diet or have to rely on emergency relief as a result of not being able to afford food. Food security seeks to ensure the systems that produce, transport, store and supply food work effectively to enable wider and more reliable access to safe and nutritious food.
According to the Sydney Food Fairness Alliance, food is seemingly abundant in Sydney, yet there are segments of the city’s population that do not have access to enough good food on a regular basis. As poverty is a strong factor influencing health, people who suffer the poorest health and who could benefit most from a better diet are unable to afford, find or use the freshest food.
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SFFA Declaration on Food: sydneyfoodfairness. org.au/food-summitdeclaration-2009/ Sydney Basin agriculture and other discussion sheets: sydneyfoodfairness. org.au/discussion_papers/
FO0D INITIATIVES... Food Fairness Illawarra: http://www.healthycitiesill. org.au/foodfairness.htm Coffs Coast Local Food Futures Alliance : www.coffsharbour.nsw.gov. au/www/html/4499-localfood-futures-framework.asp South Melbourne Eco Market: www.foe.org.au Food Connect (Brisbane) www.foodconnect.com.au/ Food Connect Adelaide: www.foodconnectadelaide. com.au/ Food Connect Sydney: sydney.foodconnect.com.au/ Our Harvest community supported agriculture Bellingen-Coffs Harbour: www.ourharvest.org.au/ Australian Community Foods (formers markets, find a community garden, seed saving groups, community supported agriculture, cafes, food co-ops and farmgate sales, organic retailers: www.communityfoods.org. au/ Australian City Farms & Community Gardens Network: communitygarden.org.au Pacific-Edge: pacific-edge.info Organic Federation Australia: www.ofa.org.au
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A national presence? That food issues are growing to national prominence is indicated by the increasing frequency of reporting on them by commercial and community media and a growing community interest in food issues that takes the topic beyond the existing focus on the potential health impacts of food additives and the other health concerns that have so far dominated the national conversation about food. Another indicator of the status that food issues have attained has been the funding of local government food initiatives by the NSW government and the move by some NSW local governments into community education around the growing and buying of food and in support of local, communitybased food initiatives. What would facilitate this groundswell would be better communication and the sharing of information by all of those educational and advocacy entities active on food issues. This could take the form of a national conversation, principally online but as get-togethers on occasion, to network ideas and initiatives and to sketch out schemes that would move the nation and its people towards nutritional health, regionalised economic initiatives around food and towards food security. We might even start to develop a convivial food culture around regional food, its production, processing, distribution, marketing and eating.
WHAT IS THE SFFA? The Sydney Food Fairness Alliance (SFFA) was created in 2005 with a mission of education and advocacy around food. The Alliance is a collaboration of diverse interests ranging through community workers, health and nutritional professionals, city fringe farmers, urban agriculture interests, social justice advocates, church, community NGOs, local government and academics gathered around the idea of an economically viable, ecologically and socially sustainable food future for the metropolis. The focus of the Alliance is on food production, processing and distribution as well as equitable access to fresh food, nutritional health and the conservation of Sydney’s substantial local food supply that comes from its immediate hinterland.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR... Russ Grayson — community food systems consultant; Sydney Food Fairness Alliance; media liaison Australian City Farms & Community Gardens Network. Russ has produced policy directions on community food gardening for local government in Sydney (http:/ communitygarden.org.au) and works with TerraCircle Inc (http://terracircle.org. au/), an agency involved in food security and agricultural livelihoods training in the Solomon Islands. http://pacific-edge.info/
Let’s summarise this process by proposing this continuum as a means to enacting policies to take us towards food security:
> communicate > collaborate > create > make SYDNEY FOOD FAIRNESS ALLIANCE
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