Local Futures

The Economics of Happiness

Donate Now
  • Home
  • Media Room
  • Blog
  • Store
  • Contact
Menu
  • About
    • Our Mission
    • History
    • Who We Are
    • Close
  • Our Projects
    • Global to Local
      • International Alliance for Localization
        • IAL Members
        • Join the IAL
        • About being an IAL Member
        • IAL Historical Background
      • Planet Local
        • Culture
        • Eco Communities
        • Ecology
        • Health
        • Local Business & Finance
        • Local Energy
        • Local Food, Farming & Fisheries
        • Local Policy & Community Rights
        • Place-based Education
        • Sharing & Repairing
        • Planet Local Short Film Series
          • Week 1: Planet Local Short Food Film Series
          • Week 2 – Diverse Farming Systems
          • Week 3 – Local Food Webs – Exploring Systems of Distribution
          • Week 4 — Local Food Processors — AKA Making Delicious Food
      • Global to Local Webinar Series
        • All Recordings of Past Global to Local Webinars
        • Sacred Activism in a Post-Trump World
        • Talking Climate with Bill McKibben
        • People Power: Democracy and the Economy
        • Beyond Trump: The Path to Real Change
        • Bringing the Food Economy Home
        • A World Without ‘Free’ Trade: What it would look like and how to get there
        • Beyond ‘Free Trade’ – Alternatives to Corporate Rule
        • Education: Promises, Myths and Realities
        • Debt and Speculation in the Global Economy
        • A New Activism
        • Climate Change or System Change: Pathways Beyond Paris
        • Going Local
      • Local Bites Podcast
      • Roots of Change
        • Starting a Study Circle
    • Our Work in Ladakh
      • Experiences in Ladakh 2018
      • Experiences in Ladakh 2017
      • Learning from Ladakh Materials
      • Local Futures’ History in Ladakh
        • Women’s Alliance of Ladakh
      • Mindful Travel & Tourist Education Program
        • Mindful Trekking
    • The Economics of Happiness
      • The Economics of Happiness Film
        • About the Film
          • Directors’ Note
          • Media Resource / Image Gallery
          • About the Filmmakers
          • Voices from the Film
          • Awards and Film Festivals
          • Reviews
        • Host a Community Screening
        • Watch the Film Online
        • Buy the DVD
        • Translated Versions of the Film
        • Discussion Guide
      • DIY Economics of Happiness Workshop
    • Close
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
      • Newkind Festival, Tasmania
      • Economics of Happiness Conference, Ladakh
    • Past International Conferences
      • Other Past Events
    • Calendar
        • « February 2019 » loading...
          MTWTFSS
          28
          29
          30
          31
          1
          2
          3
          4
          5
          6
          7
          8
          9
          10
          11
          12
          13
          14
          15
          16
          17
          18
          19
          20
          21
          22
          23
          24
          25
          26
          27
          28
          1
          2
          3
    • Close
  • Publications
    • Free Reading Materials
    • Local Futures Films
    • Books & Reports
    • Translations of Materials
    • Economics of Happiness Blog
    • Newsletters & Annual Reports
    • Proceedings
    • Close
  • Get Involved
    • How to donate
    • Share the Film
    • Join email list
    • Come to an Event
    • Organize a Screening
    • Volunteer or Intern
    • Close
  • Activist Tools
    • Links: Organizations for Change
    • Generate Alternatives
    • Become a Policy Changer
    • Films for Change
    • Recommended Readings
    • Independent Media Sources
    • Close
You are here: Home / Our Projects / Global to Local / Planet Local / Local Food, Farming & Fisheries / Planet Local Initiatives

Food Swapping and The Fitzroy Urban Harvest

Australia

Foodswap

Photo by Sue Jackson

Although 89% of Australians live in cities or towns rather than on farmlands, Australia’s typical huge suburban house lots have enabled a tradition of home-grown produce. And over time, even in the high-density living of the inner-cities, more and more people have taken to growing at least some of their food at home. Australia is not only one of the most urbanized nations on earth, it is also one of the most multi-cultural, so home-produced food is richly diverse and often meant to be shared.

Perhaps with that background it is no surprise that Australians have been at the forefront of the Food Swap movement, where sharing becomes rather more formalized as groups of locals come together by arrangement to exchange excess produce. The Fitzroy Urban Harvest is one inspiring example.

Every month, at a local park in Melbourne’s inner-city suburb of Fitzroy, people meet to exchange not only produce, but seeds, cuttings, eggs, jam, chutney, flowers, jars, recipes and gardening tips. There is no money involved and no proviso that participants should take the equivalent of what they contribute. Rather, people are encouraged to take what they want.

As well as reducing waste and saving money spent on food, swaps have other advantages. They provide an opportunity for residents to get to know their neighbors and to build community links. And of course food grown right where you live is likely to be fresh, seasonal, and often organic, with wonderfully low/zero food miles.

We encourage everyone with extra produce in the garden to investigate local food swaps, or consider starting one of their own!

To learn more about The Fitzroy Urban Harvest or to connect with other similar projects throughout Australia, visit: Fitzroy Urban Harvest Food Swap.

Related


Food Swapping and The Fitzroy Urban Harvest

Category: Local Food, Farming & Fisheries

Related

  • Global to Local
    • International Alliance for Localization
      • IAL Members
      • Join the IAL
      • About being an IAL Member
      • IAL Historical Background
    • Planet Local
      • Culture
      • Eco Communities
      • Ecology
      • Health
      • Local Business & Finance
      • Local Energy
      • Local Food, Farming & Fisheries
      • Local Policy & Community Rights
      • Place-based Education
      • Sharing & Repairing
      • Planet Local Short Film Series
        • Week 1: Planet Local Short Food Film Series
        • Week 2 – Diverse Farming Systems
        • Week 3 – Local Food Webs – Exploring Systems of Distribution
        • Week 4 — Local Food Processors — AKA Making Delicious Food
    • Global to Local Webinar Series
      • All Recordings of Past Global to Local Webinars
      • Sacred Activism in a Post-Trump World
      • Talking Climate with Bill McKibben
      • People Power: Democracy and the Economy
      • Beyond Trump: The Path to Real Change
      • Bringing the Food Economy Home
      • A World Without ‘Free’ Trade: What it would look like and how to get there
      • Beyond ‘Free Trade’ – Alternatives to Corporate Rule
      • Education: Promises, Myths and Realities
      • Debt and Speculation in the Global Economy
      • A New Activism
      • Climate Change or System Change: Pathways Beyond Paris
      • Going Local
    • Local Bites Podcast
    • Roots of Change
      • Starting a Study Circle
  • Our Work in Ladakh
    • Experiences in Ladakh 2018
    • Experiences in Ladakh 2017
    • Learning from Ladakh Materials
    • Local Futures’ History in Ladakh
      • Women’s Alliance of Ladakh
    • Mindful Travel & Tourist Education Program
      • Mindful Trekking
  • The Economics of Happiness
    • The Economics of Happiness Film
      • About the Film
        • Directors’ Note
        • Media Resource / Image Gallery
        • About the Filmmakers
        • Voices from the Film
        • Awards and Film Festivals
        • Reviews
      • Host a Community Screening
      • Watch the Film Online
      • Buy the DVD
      • Translated Versions of the Film
      • Discussion Guide
    • DIY Economics of Happiness Workshop

Helena Norberg-Hodge on Looking at the Big Picture

Sign up for our email updates

Latest Blogs

  • Why the “Anthropocene” is not “Climate Change”

    February 6, 2019No Comments
  • Tosepan: Resistance and Renewal in Mexico

    January 26, 2019No Comments
  • Education, jobs and capitalism

    January 15, 20192 Comments

Global to Local Newsfeed

Scroll down for more
Local Futures / Economics of Happiness
  • About
  • Contact
  • The Economics of Happiness
  • Take Action

Sign up for our email updates

Donate Now

International Society for Ecology and Culture © Copyright 2019 | site by digiflip