Fresh Food Hub for Townsville
Given the rising costs of living, the rising costs of fuel and its impact on associated food costs, and ongoing community interest in eating and growing more healthy food, Community Voices propose to investigate the feasibility of establishing of a Fresh Food Hub for Townsville.
The aims of this policy are to:
• To enable residents of Townsville and NQ to have the benefits of locally grown produce: cheaper, fresher, more nutritious fruit and vegetables
• Help farmers reduce transport costs
• To encourage people to have more healthy eating habits
The current situation is that farmers in North Queensland send their produce to Brisbane via road transport only to send them back up here again for sale in the big supermarkets. We, the customers, end up paying a fortune for fruit and veggies that are grown in North Queensland, which arrive in the supermarket shelves many days or even weeks old. It makes no sense.
This facility will save the families of Townsville and NQ from having to pay the extra costs associated with freight as well as maintaining the freshness of the food.
The Fresh Food Hub is part of a wider policy aimed at supporting residents who want to grow their own food and assisting them to do that effectively, efficiently and safely with minimum cost outlays. Other fresh food initiatives include:
• Providing residents with free consultancy on how to grow their food more easily and sustainably
• Encouraging school based food production gardens, similar to that implemented in Victoria
School gardens are terrific at providing gardening skills for children and their parents, and have the added benefit of educating our kids about where food comes from, and encourages cooking skills and healthy eating.
The aims of this policy are to:
• To enable residents of Townsville and NQ to have the benefits of locally grown produce: cheaper, fresher, more nutritious fruit and vegetables
• Help farmers reduce transport costs
• To encourage people to have more healthy eating habits
The current situation is that farmers in North Queensland send their produce to Brisbane via road transport only to send them back up here again for sale in the big supermarkets. We, the customers, end up paying a fortune for fruit and veggies that are grown in North Queensland, which arrive in the supermarket shelves many days or even weeks old. It makes no sense.
This facility will save the families of Townsville and NQ from having to pay the extra costs associated with freight as well as maintaining the freshness of the food.
The Fresh Food Hub is part of a wider policy aimed at supporting residents who want to grow their own food and assisting them to do that effectively, efficiently and safely with minimum cost outlays. Other fresh food initiatives include:
• Providing residents with free consultancy on how to grow their food more easily and sustainably
• Encouraging school based food production gardens, similar to that implemented in Victoria
School gardens are terrific at providing gardening skills for children and their parents, and have the added benefit of educating our kids about where food comes from, and encourages cooking skills and healthy eating.