The Open Food Network recently launched the Australian Fair Food Forum, an online destination for individuals and organizations working towards a sustainable and fair food system in Australia. Alongside partners the Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance and Right to Food Coalition, the network is building and supporting communities of practice. The new forum serves as a platform for peer-to-peer sharing where individuals and organizations can connect, learn from, and share knowledge with each other.
With the aim of becoming Australia’s definitive online destination for various stakeholders such as academics, farmers, and social enterprises, the Fair Food Forum serves as a common place for these diverse groups to share expertise. Born out of the recognition that conversations are happening in closed, scattered groups around the country, the Australian Fair Food Forum hosts conversations in an open, searchable forum. Participants can ask for and offer help and advice from other projects or enterprises in the community, reducing potential duplication of efforts while sharing solutions and successes.
“At every fair food event there is such enthusiasm and a strong desire to continue the conversation, and for many people running community food enterprises, there’s also great excitement and relief to meet others facing the same practical concerns that their operation is dealing with,” says Serenity Hill, Open Food Network co-founder and co-director.
“The Open Food Network set up the Australian Fair Food Forum because we recognized that providing a space for those conversations to continue, and a place where people could share resources and lessons learned would help everyone across the sector. Now, rather than each enterprise creating everything from scratch, they’re able to ask for help and resources from their peers, which hopefully frees them up to get on with what they want to be doing—building a stronger, fairer food system!”
Participants in the Australian Fair Food Forum include the Youth Food Movement, Fair Food Challenge, Farmer Incubator, Local Food Launchpad, Australian Food Hubs Network, and more. By bringing people and organizations together to learn from one another, the Australian Fair Food Forum aims to streamline efforts and increase their effectiveness, strengthening the movement to ensure fair food for all Australians.
