#10🍒The Cornucopia- Food Deserts, Abattoir Changes, Food Heroes, Street x Food Values & Reflecting on 2024.
Melbourne to Victoria and Beyond: Your Regular Scoop of the Food Systems Scene
Regen Melbourne acknowledges and respects the Bunurong, Boon Wurrung and Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung peoples of the Eastern Kulin Nation, which is now known as Melbourne. We extend these acknowledgements to all Traditional Owners across the State of Victoria. The food system knowledge, practices and deep wisdom of the First Nations people of this land guides, informs and drives our work.
🍋 Hello Cornucopians!
As we wrap up our final Cornucopia for 2024, it's time to pause, reflect, and savour the journey. Just five months ago, this newsletter was a seedling of an idea - and thanks to your incredible support, contributions, and endless stream of insights, it has blossomed into a vibrant hub for food news and community connection.
This will be our last edition of the year, as we take time to rest, reconnect, and enjoy delicious meals together. Thank you for being part of this first chapter. We can't wait to see what stories, connections, and fun 2025 will bring.
Hot Off the Grill🫓
Across the Globe 🌎
🍟Bite Back report reveals UK fast food chains strategically targeting low-income areas and schools.
🍓Forum for the Future launches Climate and Health Toolkit for food businesses.
🌽The Conversation article on the important role agroecology can play in revolutionising Africa’s food system.
🎧Agarian Futures podcast episode with Mark Watson from Potlikker Capital, supporting BIPOC farmers, working at the intersection of climate and racial justice.
🍚A blog on the impact of India’s export rice restrictions on the global market.
🍅BBC investigates links between UK supermarket Italian purees and Chinese forced labour.
😷Yale Climate Connections piece on climate change accelerating food spoilage and foodborne illnesses.
🏪The Atlantic article on how historical federal policy relating to supermarkets is linked to U.S food deserts.
Closer to Home 🏠
🥩Good Food article on upcoming changes to abattoirs challenging access to ethical and high quality meat.
🎉Congratulations to the winners of Jamie Oliver’s inaugural Australian Food Hero Awards, including Mooroopna Park Primary School, James McLennan from Farm My School and the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation.
📑Tasmania’s new Agriculture Emissions Reduction and Resilience Plan showcases an impactful local procurement program.
🍲Centre for Social Impact has released tools for optimal practice for community food relief agencies.
👫Regen Food x Regen Streets collaboration, interrogating the common values across food and streets and the vital role of communities in unlocking these. And while you’re there check out Regen Melbourne’s first annual report!
🍛2024: The Year of Food!🍛
What a remarkable journey 2024 has been for our food system! This year saw a profound awakening - suddenly, food wasn't just a topic for passionate foodies, but a conversation capturing the imagination of the broader public. Victoria experienced two parliamentary food inquiries, while environment and conservation advocates increasingly recognised food systems as a critical area for climate change action. Community innovation flourished, with groups everywhere discovering creative new ways to reconnect with how we grow, share, and experience food.
At Regen Melbourne, we recognised this momentum and identified transitioning Greater Melbourne's food system as a critical "earthshot". A deep acknowledgement that food is the heartbeat of our city - inseparable from our collective well-being and the ecological systems that sustain us.
For our team, 2024 was a year of deep listening and learning. We reconnected with old colleagues and forged exciting new relationships, weaving a rich tapestry of insights. Our comprehensive report emerged from this intensive sensemaking process, offering an honest, nuanced reflection of Greater Melbourne's food system.
As we step into 2025, we're shifting from observation to action. We're ready to develop innovative programs, cultivate meaningful partnerships, design engaging events, and create spaces where our incredible network of food system changemakers can come together, share, and drive real transformation.
Want to be part of this journey? We'd love to hear from you. Our vision is big, but our welcome is warm - and there's a place for everyone at this table.
You can read more about our plans, and we invite you to reach out, connect, and help shape the future of our food system.
Here's to many more Cornucopias, delicious conversations, and nourishing connections in 2025!
🥝 Do you have something delicious brewing that you want us to share in The Cornucopia?
Send us an ✉️ at dheepa@regen.melbourne