Fair Food Week is a celebration of the real value of fair food: the work of those that grow, make and share it, and the benefits it brings to eaters, farmers, land, and animals.
In Fair Food Week, we want to recognise all that that goes into making fair food, and celebrate all the good that comes out of it.
Fair food nourishes people and values the wellbeing of farmers and eaters – both physical and personal.
Fair Food regenerates the health of soil, water, ecosystems, and communities, and invests in good stewardship of the land for future generations.
Fair Food connects people. It builds relationships between growers, eaters, and land, and brings diverse people and experiences together.
Fair Food builds a better food system for the present and the future, in which everyone can exercise their right to nourishing, ecologically-sound, culturally-appropriate food.
This year we hope that Fair Food Week highlights the value of this connection, regeneration, nourishment, and change.
We look forward to events that celebrate the good that fair food gives - that help others experience it, that share and support the work that goes into creating it, and that lift up ideas, actions, and examples for a better food future.
About hosting an event
Fair Food Week is a self-organised, nation-wide event facilitated by the Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance.
Anyone can organise an event in their community (or further afield!) and register the event, via the “submit your event” button, below.
While event hosts organise and promote their own events independently, we also promote events through Fair Food Week social media and networks, so it is a great opportunity to get the word out to a wider audience about good work and important issues.
Beyond simply hosting an event, contact us for event sponsorship details.
What kind of events can we host?
Events can take any form you like to celebrate fair food. Events might be about:
Celebrating and showcasing what Fair Food means, and brings, to you and your community.
Bringing together and educating people around the value of fair food.
Sharing experiences and stories of fair food with others.
Past events have included:
-Farm tours, field days, and open days
-Food festivals, produce swaps, and farmer’s market celebrations
-Community meals, long-table lunches, potluck, or restaurant pop-ups
-Public panels and discussions on fair food topics
-Book talks, farmer talks, and film screenings
-Food and farming workshops ranging from no-waste cooking to fermenting to urban gardening.
This year, AFSA invites anyone keen to get involved in Fair Food Week to join us for a flagship event as we launch our new book, Eating Democracy: The True Cost of the Food We Eat with Costa Georgiadis on Saturday 21 October at SAGE (Brinja-Yuin Country, Moruya NSW).
Eating Democracy tells the story of eleven eaters doing things differently, navigating their paths to grow, provision and cook in ways that are fair to soil, water, plants, animals, and people. These eaters are helping to build a new food system based on culture, community, and personal, public, and ecosystem health without blowing the household or the planetary budget. From now until 19 September, you can pre-order your copy of Eating Democracy - click here to be one of the first to read it!
Host a FFW Event: get your local community engaged in food sovereignty!
If you’d like to focus your Fair Food Week efforts more locally, we’re calling on all groups, from farmers to food hubs, schools to universities, to host their own event as part of Fair Food Week. If you’re interested, click the link below to host an event near you.
Let’s continue to put food sovereignty on the Australian table so farmers can keep farming… so that young people will feel encouraged to go into farming, so that family farmers around the world know that we are acting for their sovereignty… and so that all eaters can continue to input democratically into improving our food system.
It’s time to shine the light on the new story of fair food flourishing across Australia. Viva!
What is food sovereignty?
“Food Sovereignty is the right of peoples to healthy and culturally appropriate food produced through ecologically sound and sustainable methods, and their right to define their own food and agriculture systems." - La Via Campesina, the global organisation of peasants.
There 7 pillars of achieving food sovereignty are:
1. FOCUSES ON FOOD FOR PEOPLE
Puts people’s need for food at the centre of policies
Insists that food is more than just a commodity
2. BUILDS KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS
Builds on traditional knowledge
Uses research to support and pass this knowledge to future generations
Rejects technologies that undermine or contaminate local food systems
3. WORKS WITH NATURE
Optimises the contributions of ecosystems
Improves resilience
4. VALUES FOOD PROVIDERS
Supports sustainable livelihoods
Respects the work of all food providers
5. LOCALIZES FOOD SYSTEMS
Reduces distance between food providers and consumers
Rejects dumping and inappropriate food aid
Resists dependency on remote and unaccountable corporations
6. PUTS CONTROL LOCALLY
Places control in the hands of local food providers
Recognises the need to inhabit and to share territories
Rejects the privatization of natural resources
7. FOOD IS SACRED
Recognises that food is a gift of life, and not to be squandered
Asserts that food cannot be commodified
About the Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance (AFSA)
The Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance (AFSA) is a farmer-led civil society organisation of people working together towards socially-just and ecologically-sound food and agriculture systems that foster the democratic participation of Indigenous Peoples, smallholders, and local communities in decision making processes.
If you have any further questions about hosting an event, email AFSA’s General Coordinator, Jessie Power (coordinator@afsa.org.au).
