Fair Food Champion – Suzy Pickles

1. Your work spans such an impressive range – from food systems and sustainable living to art, design, and community building. How do you now weave these different elements together in creating your impact in our local food system?

My career has definitely taken a circuitous route that has been guided more by interests rather than by any external ‘career’ goals. I think this now serves me well, as it means, mid career, that I bring knowledge and skills from across a range of disciplines to my work. Local food systems are very complex. They involve individuals, communities, businesses, corporations and governments, and they are at the intersection of the environment, culture, health and the economy. It’s a lot! Having a diverse background helps me to think broadly, to see aspects of the food system from different perspectives, and to apply skills such as graphic design, visual thinking, community engagement, consultation, writing and strategy to my research. I also studied law for a couple of years, so I understand a bit about the legislative environment, which also helps.

2. You’ve come from Arts to a Diploma in Sustainable Living and now doing PhD research in sustainable food systems. What drove this evolution towards food sustainability? What excites you most about your current research?

I’ve always been interested in food and farming. My high school years were spent living on a ten acre property just outside of Mullumbimby, and my parents were really into gardening. My mum did the landscape design and grew the ornamentals, and my dad grew the edibles (this was in addition to their day jobs). I guess it planted a seed, so to speak. At school we studied ‘agriculture’ as a compulsory year 7/8 subject, which I loved, though at the time it didn’t even cross my mind to pursue this further.

I think the light bulb moment was about ten years ago when I read ‘Call of the Reed Warbler’ by Charles Massey, which is about the regenerative farming movement in Australia, then I read ‘Dark Emu’ by Bruce Pascoe. These two books blew my mind. I was working as the in-house interpretation designer for a heritage consultancy in Sydney at the time, where a lot of the work was connecting with history and landscape to tell the stories of a place. These books put a whole new perspective on Australian food, farming, culture and history. My partner also read these books, and it started a shift in both of us. To cut a long story short, over the next few years our family left our three metre wide terrace in Redfern with a back yard the size of a handkerchief, and moved to what feels like an expansive 1000sqm suburban block in Bulli. My partner Adam, who is an architect, did a Permaculture Design Certificate, and I did the online Diploma of Sustainable Living through the University of Tasmania. We both learned a lot, and we planned our garden around the principles we learned in these courses, integrating zones for vegetables, fruit trees, chickens, native plants for biodiversity and recreation areas such as the fire pit and grass for the dog and for parties. I get enormous pleasure out of growing food, harvesting it and then cooking and eating it, often sharing with others. It feels fundamental to the human condition, kind of like a daily miracle, and I guess I feel like the industrial food system is destroying this by homogenising food cultures, severing the nuance and warmth of community and place-based, seasonal eating. At the same time, the industrial food system is destroying the planet – literally – and making people very unhealthy.

I wasn’t planning on enrolling in a PhD, but I saw a scholarship advertised for a candidate to research the local food system in the Illawarra Shoalhaven, and it was my dream topic, so even though I don’t come from a research background, I submitted an application, and I was successful! That was about two years ago, and it’s been an absolute joy. I love research. At the moment I’m investigating urban and peri-urban producers in the region. I think local food production is the cornerstone of a local food system, and in the Illawarra Shoalhaven we have amazing conditions for growing food. However, urbanisation has fragmented the landscape, so people growing food commercially, in community gardens and in home gardens on smaller infill plots are an important piece of the puzzle. I’ve conducted a desktop review, an online survey, and have interviewed a number of commercial farmers, and what excites me is the determination of these amazing people and their values. They are passionate about producing healthy local food, contributing positively to the local ecosystem, and connecting with their community. We are lucky to have them – please seek them out and support them whenever you can, because it’s hard work, and often the financial viability of their farms is tenuous. Every bit of support helps.

3. The Bulli Crop Swap is such an amazing solution to food waste at a community level. Can you tell us a little more about this initiative?

Bulli Crop Swap is amazing. For those who don’t know what a crop swap is, basically, anyone is welcome. We meet in the carpark behind Millers’ Local Bakehouse shop in Bulli on the first Saturday of the month at 2pm sharp. People bring excess produce, seeds, seedlings, plants, cupcakes, pastries, bread, flowers – anything food or garden related really! We put all of the produce on trestle tables, then briefly go around the group introducing ourselves and talking about what we have brought, as well as any tips for using it.

Two friends (Sarah Anderson from Popes Produce and Emma Huber from Miller’s Local Bakehouse) and I started it about 18 months ago. We didn’t know if anyone else would be interested, and we just shared it on our Instagram feeds, and we have been overwhelmed with the community that has built around it. There is a pool of around 80-100 people, and 30-40 of those come along any given month. People come to share produce, to access food, and also to learn skills and to meet other like-minded people. Friendships have definitely been forged across the trestle tables. And, as you point out, as well as the social and health benefits, crop swap is also a great way of offloading excess produce instead of it going to waste. I mean, there are only so many zucchinis one household can eat. And surprisingly, given we all live in the same area, there is great diversity across the produce that people bring along.

4. Now onto your pickling expertise – what’s one thing you wish someone had told you when you started out preserving food?

Ooh, that’s a great question. I would recommend getting a white marker rather than stickers to label your jars – stickers are really difficult to get off when you are ready to re-use the jar for the next batch. Also, make sure you have a steady supply of apple cider vinegar during summer! And don’t make it too complicated. I use the standard brine recipe for all pickling – 4 parts vinegar to 2 parts water to 1 part sugar. It works a treat.

5. Finally, given your unique perspective spanning both research and hands-on work in your own backyard, what excites you most about the future of food in the Illawarra?

With the cost-of-living crisis also affecting so many people in our area, I see that growing food wherever we can is particularly important at the moment as it helps people to access fresh healthy food. And while it’s not going to solve the crisis, it does help. I’m also excited about the energy among the community about a local food culture. People are interested in growing, eating, cooking and learning about local food. There are crop swaps popping up everywhere, community gardens are thriving, the Illawarra Edible Garden Trail is an incredible initiative. All of these things are occurring naturally, and they are very exciting.