Food Systems Roadmap

Thank you for your input!

Food is essential to everyone – it not only connects people from all walks of life but it has a direct impact on our health and wellbeing.

That’s why we are working with the Central Goldfields Food Network and Sustain: The Australian Food Network to create a Food System Roadmap for our Shire.

The Food System Roadmap is a plan to help our community access healthy, nutritious and sustainable food.

Thank you to the more than 200 people who recently provided input into what healthy food means to them and what they think would make our local systems better.

Some of the themes of the feedback include better nutrition education, more veggie gardens, access to cheaper fresh produce, cooking classes for kids and community, healthy takeaway options, and more markets. See below for our next steps.

What is a food system?

The circular journey our food takes - from paddock to plate, and back again - connects people from all walks of life, across industries, ages, and communities.

The people and processes involved in feeding our communities are known collectively as the food system. The success of the local food system has a direct impact on our health and wellbeing, the growth of our children, the environment, and the local economy.

Food System Diagram (credit North Carolina Local Food Council)

What's being done?

We know that the best way to make the food system better for children and young people, is to make it better for everyone. Council is only one small part of the local food system, so we need to work with the whole community to make a difference.

To start, we are working with VicHealth and Sustain – The Australian Food Network, to build a Food Systems Roadmap - a plan forward, shared by the whole community, to make our food system better.

Some work is already happening in this space through the Central Goldfields Food Network, Healthy Loddon Campaspe, and Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden initiatives, but we know there are many more parts of the community we need to hear from.

What’s next?

Your feedback will help inform the draft Food Systems Roadmap, which will help us to identify some practical and achievable actions that can be implemented through community partnerships.

The draft Roadmap will be finalised in July, with a further opportunity for the community to review and provide feedback expected to open in August.

Watch this space!