Food- we couldn’t survive without it, yet many of us these days take it for
granted. There it is in our cupboards
and fridges, or readily available in the supermarket when we need to stock up.
But what is really involved with getting food from where it is grown or produced to our table? What’s its story… what journey does it take? Let’s find out!
Where Did It Come From?
First off- a household food hunt! Let mum or dad know what you are doing and don’t eat too much along the way!
Make an inventory of each type of item you have in your pantry, fridge, freezer etc and, where possible, note down where each is manufactured, grown, packed etc. Some items may say “Packed in Australia from local and imported ingredients” or other similar descriptions, so write those points down.
You can also include other groceries such as bathroom products, cleaners, wraps, foil, paper towel, toilet paper, pet foods etc. Any consumable products your household buys.
Work out what percentage of your food is sourced locally and how local- Your city, town etc? Your state? Your country?
What percentage comes from overseas? Are the locations wide spread or is there a predominance of a few countries? Why do you think this is so?
The Journey
How far did each item have to travel approximately? This is known as the ‘food miles’ of your item.
Find out, or make an educated guess, as to how each item may have travelled to your location- truck, train, ship, plane etc?
What resources, both direct and indirect, might have been used in order for this item to get to you?
Local Ingredients?
Even with foods packaged locally, sometimes the ingredients have come from far afield.
Can you find out where these ingredients came from?
Why do you think they were brought in from overseas, rather than using local produce?
Could they have sourced these ingredients more locally or are they too hard to grow here?
What’s In The Shops?
Time for a trip to some local shops such as supermarkets, fruit and veg shops, markets, small shops etc. Go as a family, if possible, but make sure you have mum or dad’s approval if you go alone.
Take a list of the most common items you buy regularly, that have come from overseas.
Can you find locally grown or produced versions of them? Would your family consider switching to this brand/item instead of the one previously bought? Why or why not?
What about fresh versions of things you might have bought pre-packaged (frozen, canned, commercial packaging non-locally) before, such as fruits, veggies, bakery products etc? A lot of these may be produced much more locally.
What about really local versions of things you buy… are there things that are made in your very local area, such as your suburb or town, which would mean very few food miles involved? Would your family consider trying this?
Small shops such as fruit and veg shops, bakeries and other produce shops often stock locally made produce, as do local markets, fetes and ‘farm gates’. Explore all the wonderful options there are for local produce.
Grow Your Own!
Another great way to create local abundance is to get involved with growing food, either in your own backyard, or by joining forces with a local community garden. Imagine if we all grew food and shared it with our neighbours! Not only would food be local, fresh, cheaper and healthy, but it is a great vehicle for building community spirit and friendship. Joe’s Connected Garden is a great example of this happening at a very local scale!
Start growing something… even if it’s only a few herbs or some tomato bushes… and offer some of your produce to your neighbours!
Offer to help neighbours learn to grow their own food. Offer to plant food and care for it in the gardens of elderly or disabled neighbours, who might have difficulty doing it themselves.
Food Mile Problems
Think about all the problems that transporting food long distances might create, but could be lessened, or avoided, by buying locally. Some things to consider: freshness issues; health issues; environmental impacts; future viability with resource depletion; local food security; local community impacts.
Take Action!
But what is really involved with getting food from where it is grown or produced to our table? What’s its story… what journey does it take? Let’s find out!
Where Did It Come From?
First off- a household food hunt! Let mum or dad know what you are doing and don’t eat too much along the way!
Make an inventory of each type of item you have in your pantry, fridge, freezer etc and, where possible, note down where each is manufactured, grown, packed etc. Some items may say “Packed in Australia from local and imported ingredients” or other similar descriptions, so write those points down.
You can also include other groceries such as bathroom products, cleaners, wraps, foil, paper towel, toilet paper, pet foods etc. Any consumable products your household buys.
Work out what percentage of your food is sourced locally and how local- Your city, town etc? Your state? Your country?
What percentage comes from overseas? Are the locations wide spread or is there a predominance of a few countries? Why do you think this is so?
The Journey
How far did each item have to travel approximately? This is known as the ‘food miles’ of your item.
Find out, or make an educated guess, as to how each item may have travelled to your location- truck, train, ship, plane etc?
What resources, both direct and indirect, might have been used in order for this item to get to you?
Local Ingredients?
Even with foods packaged locally, sometimes the ingredients have come from far afield.
Can you find out where these ingredients came from?
Why do you think they were brought in from overseas, rather than using local produce?
Could they have sourced these ingredients more locally or are they too hard to grow here?
What’s In The Shops?
Time for a trip to some local shops such as supermarkets, fruit and veg shops, markets, small shops etc. Go as a family, if possible, but make sure you have mum or dad’s approval if you go alone.
Take a list of the most common items you buy regularly, that have come from overseas.
Can you find locally grown or produced versions of them? Would your family consider switching to this brand/item instead of the one previously bought? Why or why not?
What about fresh versions of things you might have bought pre-packaged (frozen, canned, commercial packaging non-locally) before, such as fruits, veggies, bakery products etc? A lot of these may be produced much more locally.
What about really local versions of things you buy… are there things that are made in your very local area, such as your suburb or town, which would mean very few food miles involved? Would your family consider trying this?
Small shops such as fruit and veg shops, bakeries and other produce shops often stock locally made produce, as do local markets, fetes and ‘farm gates’. Explore all the wonderful options there are for local produce.
Grow Your Own!
Another great way to create local abundance is to get involved with growing food, either in your own backyard, or by joining forces with a local community garden. Imagine if we all grew food and shared it with our neighbours! Not only would food be local, fresh, cheaper and healthy, but it is a great vehicle for building community spirit and friendship. Joe’s Connected Garden is a great example of this happening at a very local scale!
Start growing something… even if it’s only a few herbs or some tomato bushes… and offer some of your produce to your neighbours!
Offer to help neighbours learn to grow their own food. Offer to plant food and care for it in the gardens of elderly or disabled neighbours, who might have difficulty doing it themselves.
Food Mile Problems
Think about all the problems that transporting food long distances might create, but could be lessened, or avoided, by buying locally. Some things to consider: freshness issues; health issues; environmental impacts; future viability with resource depletion; local food security; local community impacts.
Take Action!
- Have a family discussion about your findings.
- Create a Family Action Plan to guide your family in making decisions when buying food and consumable items.
- Challenge your friends to do the same research for their household and compare results. Were their results similar or different? Why?
- With your friends, create a presentation showcasing your findings and action plan suggestions to be presented to extended family and friends, your class or a local community organisation.
- Create a flyer or report to be given to local people to help them make more local choices with their purchases.
- Document the whole process of your research and make a short video so that other people can understand the issue better and take advantage of what you have discovered. Post it on Youtube or show it to a local group.
Creating a resilient local community is a vital part of any future sustainable living project and food is a ‘universal language’ that can be utilised to help bring a community together and make it stronger and more able to remain vibrant and healthy through any challenges to come.
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