The fabulous Farm It Forward – the people & the model

Nourishing Matters to Chew On

Emmanuela Prigioni, ‘Manu’, is a fabulously warm and inspirational person, who loves growing social connections & community through the amazing Farm It Forward social enterprise that she dreamt up and that ‘many’ people now love and are connecting with her to learn from, replicate and grow where they live, love and work. This episode is all about Farm It Forward and the practical inspiration and solutions it offers to young and old to connect and to grow food, social connections, community, and local resilience. I love it.

Listen in to this heartwarming, uplifting conversation that’s all about urban and peri-urban agriculture and the amazing Farm It Forward social enterprise model that’s up and underway in the Blue Mountains that’s fast becoming an ‘I want to do tha too’ in many places across Australia. Yup, Manu and the team are helping them do just that. FiF has also been on Gardening Australia and Costa is visiting them again soon – and we also wanted to share their story with you.

This episode is drawn from a webinar that Foodswell (presenters of Nourishing Matters) initiated and ran in conjunction with North Sydney Council Sustainability Team and Ku-ring-hai Councils in Sydney. Why? Because we at Foodswell reckon the FiF model is a cracker for ANY and ALL places and suburbs with young and old people who might like to make new friends AND where people have backyard space that could become a productive, sharing space to grow food, friendship, and community …. And post lockdown, who wouldn’t want to meet, share and hang out with more neighbours and meet new local friends?

Farm It Forward is a not-for-profit peri-urban farming social enterprise model connecting landowners and local young people who are passionate about growing food. The project develops skills and creates training and job opportunities while tackling social isolation and fostering community wellbeing.

​How Farm it Forward Works: In exchange for allowing their land to be used for market gardening, landowners :

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• Receive a free weekly box of fresh regeneratively grown veggies, grown on their own property or on other land in the project.

• Are visited weekly by youth outreach groups, paid young people, and volunteers to establish and maintain organic food production, and enhance cross-generational connections.

• Have the opportunity to be a part of a community or organic food growers through social media, gatherings, and visitation to the large garden plots operated by Farm it Forward

• The regular help groups allow for new aspiring growers to identify their passion and use the program as a career pathway.

All excess produce is sold locally through FiF’s farm gate system online and in-person and 100% of the funds go towards employing young people to grow food and facilitate community outreach sessions.

FiF Spring Fundraiser 2021 is all about raising funds to buy a ‘mobile’ market garden stall so they can take their produce and sell directly to community members throughout the Blue Mountains.

Please support them and this wonderful, direct fresh food to the people initiative by donating at:

https://chuffed.org/project/help-us-continue-to-outgrow-the-status-quo

Website/links

Excellent books mentioned by Manu in the webinar re how to grow food really productively and regeneratively in smallmplaces are:

“How To Grow More Vegetables” by John Jeavons

“The Market Gardener” by Jean Martin Fortier

Facebook

Farm It Forward: https://www.facebook.com/farmitforward5/

Nourishing Matters: nourishingmatterstochewon

Foodswell: foodswellaustralia

Website

Nourishing Matters: foodswell.org.au/nourishing

Farm It Forward https://www.farmitforward.com.au/

YouTube – The Foodswell/North Sydney Council Webinar https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4isSa3Z3Ww

Twitter

Nourishing Matters & Foodswell

Instagram

@nourishing_matters

@foodswellaustralia

@Farm It Forward

@Farm It Forward Tasmania

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