Boosted food program at Venus Bay Community Centre

FORMING local connections, strengthening a shared food culture, and promoting collaboration are at the heart of the ‘Feed the People’ initiative at Venus Bay Community Centre (VBCC) that will build on existing food-related projects and partnerships.

The program is supported by a State Government grant.

Wednesday community lunches at VBCC will continue but with the aim of using more home-grown produce, while evening community meals have been added to the program, the first of which takes place on Wednesday, February 18.

“The project’s about amplifying those things that we’re already doing, so we already had a community garden but we’re building new community gardens and we’re sponsoring some gardens at the health centre,” VBCC manager Alyson Skinner said.

Tarwin Lower and District Community Health Centre is one of the local groups and organisations VBCC will partner with.

In addition to boosting food production in communal settings, there will be an emphasis on helping people learn how to grow their own food, with plans for seasonal workshops covering planting, harvesting and preserving.

‘Feed the People’ will strengthen ties between gardeners and cooks and those with a passion for preserving food.

Sentinel-Times spoke to keen gardener Manuel Kunha who made the garden boxes near the VBCC entrance, growing an impressive crop of tomatoes.

“It keeps me busy,” he said.

Anne Scott happily volunteers to cook for those who attend community meals, not seeming fazed by the uncertainty of how many will come.

She finds it a great way of getting to know people in the community.

Those not yet familiar with preserving techniques can participate in future workshops, Ms Skinner remarking that with many people growing an abundance of olives, a session is likely to be organised to teach community members how to prepare and preserve them.

It’s intended to create a culture of sharing so that an individual’s excess produce can be enjoyed by others locally, be that through community meals or enhanced free food pantry offerings.

“Ideally over the next year we’ll have a stock in the pantry of tomato passata and pickled this and preserved that,” Ms Skinner said.

The Community Health Centre also runs a food cupboard and provides for those in need through donations, with its president Teresa Davison excited to be able to offer people a growing range of fresh food.

A couple of new garden boxes have recently arrived to boost growing space.

Those wanting to get involved in the grow, share, eat philosophy of the ‘Feed the People’ project and anyone just wanting to build community connections are encouraged to come to one of the community meals at VBCC.

Lunch is served there at 12pm on Wednesday.

The first evening meal takes place at 6.30pm on Wednesday, February 18 at VBCC, with another at the same time a week later at Tarwin Lower Memorial Hall.