Update on the Food Justice Trust initiatives

**Update 30 March 2016** Due to unforeseen hold ups with the Charities Services registration process, we have decided to put the Food Justice Trust on hold for the time being so we can push forward with the real work of getting the gardens set up and training youth. Rest assured that our intentions with this project have not changed and we intend to pick up the Trust process again a bit later when it is more relevant and we have some legal help to get all our trust documents in order.

——

It seems somewhat ironic (and unfair!) that when we’re most busy is when we appear to be doing very little – at least in the world of online and social media.

The reality is that in between our two paid jobs, three kids under five, and a homestead and local landscape simply exploding with more produce to preserve than we have the capacity for; we’ve also been beavering away on our work for the Food Justice Trust. Since we found the land to farm, we’ve been filling up the spare room with fruit crates, pipe, sprinklers, a washing machine, seed trays and seed tray and seed trays and more seed trays; Brad’s had the ‘big conversation’ with his boss about weaning out of work (we think it went ok), we’ve filmed and begun editing the footage for our first crowd funding campaign, been madly applying for grants to apply our set up costs, attended the workshops of visiting Canadian market gardeners Jean-Martin Fortier and Curtis Stone, and put together the Trust’s business plan, a behemoth of a thing that will guide us through the next three years.

Because of our dual roles in Grow Food Instead and as Food Justice Trust board members (alongside the wonderful Marco and Tess Partridge who will keep us on the right path) and our Teal organisation aspirations, we’ve made a commitment to transparency in all Food Justice Trust initiatives.  So below you’ll find that business plan for your reading pleasure – perhaps you’ll find some inspiration in it also.  For those that don’t want to commit to the full 43 pages, here’s a quick summary of what you’ll find inside:

• We get started on the lease property in April and will be selling produce by September.
• This year we’ll build a 120m2 greenhouse and 50 x 30m long beds, and we’ll build the same again for the next two years.
• We’ll be selling our produce at farmers markets, through distributors and directly to restaurants, with the profits coming back to the Trust to invest in our initiatives so that we are self-reliant.
• As well as providing school holiday internships for secondary school students, each year we’ll take on an apprentice who has gone through our selection process for youth at a social disadvantage.
• After three years in training, these apprentices will be ready to move into their communities and with our assistance begin setting up urban farms to provide free/low-cost produce to local families.

There’s so much more in there though – have a gander!