Connecting Over Fair Food 2023

Food Fairness Illawarra warmly invites you to join us for our annual Connecting Over Fair Food event to hear from those who are actively working within our food system and explore ideas around building food resilience in our community!

The theme for this year is Know, Share, Grow and our focus is on the steps we can take as a community. From making food choices that improve both our health and that of our food system, to not letting sustainable habits fall by the wayside, we all have a role to play!

🌽 Be inspired by our speakers

In a conversation with Maree from Hidden Harvest presented with an inspiring smorgasbord of easy & tangible steps that you can take to contribute to the building of a fairer food system. by the following:

• Manu from Farm it Forward, a not-for-profit urban farming social enterprise model connecting landowners and local young people who are passionate about growing food. The project fosters youth and community mental health, develops skills, training and job opportunities, while tackling social isolation and increasing community wellbeing.

• Suzy & Sarah from FOODTALKS Illawarra, which is an informal group of growers, producers, advocates, culture guides, picklers, bakers, retailers, chefs and home cooks who share a passion for delicious, fair food in our region. Whether we are aware of it or not, by eating, we all actively participate in the food system every day. We each bring our own individual levels of knowledge and value systems to the way we navigate the food system – through buying, growing, making or trading food. FoodTalks Illawarra holds panel discussion style events every couple of months featuring local food heroes talking about different aspects of the food system in our area, such as growing, retail, production. We gather, sip home-made soup, listen, chat and share ideas.

• Narelle from A Garden For Life, who is a garden designer and horticulturist who specialises in native gardens and permaculture design, with a passion about creating ‘living’ spaces that are nurturing, productive and sustainable

🥨 Have a chat to our stall holders

Upon arrival you’ll be welcomed by a great variety of market stalls and fair food information to browse, connect and learn about the many awesome initiatives we have in the Illawarra! Do you want to be a stallholder instead of an attendee? Fill out our Stallholder EOI form!

🧆 Snack on Civic Square Café’s canapes

Included in your ticket is a selection of canapes provided by the Civic Square Café! They are based within the Civic Centre and work hard to source premium ingredients and cook everything from scratch with love. If you have any dietary requirements please let us know when registering for your ticket. If possible, please BYO reusable cutlery, drink bottle & keep cup to save unnecessary waste.

🥬 Join the Crop Swap

Crop swaps are a great way to build local community, reduce food waste and eat better, for less. We are calling on all backyard, verge and balcony growers to bring along anything surplus to swap! Think of a glut of garden greens or excess mulberries, maybe you have a bay leaf tree or rosemary that can benefit from a trim, or you have herbs almost coming out of your ears. Anything edible is welcome to be shared!

🥕 Stay for a special screening of Rachel’s Farm

In this triumphant film, where director and actress Rachel Ward voyages from her own willful ignorance about the ecological impacts of conventional agriculture, to championing a movement to restore the health of our farmland, food and climate and in doing so the wellbeing of the farming communities that sustain the nation, and ourselves.

🌟 Accessibility

The Civic Centre is an accessible building and includes designated accessible parking spaces, elevator access, accessible toilets and hearing loop. There is additional parking across the street.

If you have any further accessibility requirements that you think we should be aware of, please let us know when registering for your tickets.

🎟 Tickets

All revenue from the tickets is invested back into Food Fairness Illawarra, to enable its collaborative work towards a more sustainable, stronger and resilient local food system.

🤝 Partnerships for the goals (SDG17: Zero Hunger)

This event is organised as part of Global Climate Change Week by Food Fairness Illawarra, in partnership with Shellharbour City Council, Wollongong City Council, Kiama Municipal Council, Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District, University of Wollongong and Healthy Cities Illawarra.