Healthy Food Systems

Formed in 2022, Central Goldfields Food Network is a forum for community groups, individuals, and organisations interested in improving access to healthy and nutritious food in Central Goldfields. Because many of the challenges facing the local food system cannot be solved by any single person or organisation, the Network provides a space for the community to collaborate on shared solutions.

Membership is open to all community members and organisations interested in promoting healthy and nutritious food in Central Goldfields.

The Network currently meets every two months.

If you are interested in joining or would like to find out more, please contact Gemma Simpson, Children and Young People First Project Officer: gemma.simpson@cgoldshire.vic.gov.au / 0428 941 399

In late 2022 and early 2023, the Central Goldfields Food Network held a series of workshops to discuss the challenges facing the Central Goldfields food system, and identify potential solutions.

More than 30 attendees contributed their professional and personal experience to three large workshops and a series of further discussions. The results of these conversations were written into an Issues and Opportunities Paper, which was published in early 2024.

Some of the key issues identified by the Network include:

• Food security
• Water quality, access, and security
• Lack of health and food literacy (child and health vulnerability)
• Cultural connection to food
• Inconsistent messaging around fresh, seasonal foods
• Climate change
• Fruit fly
• Rising farming costs

Some of the key opportunities discussed include:

• Local storage to improve access to fresh produce
• Verge veggies
• 'Grow, Cook, and Connect' community hubs
• Food and gardening workshops
• Grow edible plants and pollinators in all open spaces
• Shopping wholesale with BYO containers
• Community composting and sharing your wheelbarrows
• Growing our regional connections
• Meat processing in Central Goldfields

To find out more, click the link to download the full paper: Issues and Opportunities Paper 2024(PDF, 10MB) 

In 2024, we partnered with Sustain - The Australian Food Network to create the Central Goldfields Food Systems Roadmap. The Roadmap provides a snapshot of the food system in Central Goldfields, its challenges, and opportunities to improve it.

More than 230 community members and stakeholders were involved in consultations for the Roadmap, through interviews, Kitchen Table Talks, public listening posts, and written feedback. This gave us a clear picture of the challenges involved in accessing healthy food in Central Goldfields, and the local people and projects already working to address them. We also heard hundreds of fresh and creative ideas for ways we can work together to tackle them.

The Roadmap outlines 19 key recommendations of ways to achieve community's vision for a better local food system: one that is equitable, helps to build social connections, and supports healthy eating. These recommendations are organised into five themes:

1. Enhance local food systems governance to achieve the Roadmap goals.
2. Foster small-scale local growing to support a community-owned shared food enterprise.
3. Community food education programs meeting different needs for different cohorts.
4. Explore options to create healthy and diverse food retail environments.
5. Activate broader regional partnerships in developing the local food system.

Funding to develop the Roadmap was provided by VicHealth, through the Local Government Partnership Project.

Click the link to download the full document and find out more: Central Goldfields Food Systems Roadmap(PDF, 7MB)