Community.

If you grow anything that’s edible – in your backyard or front yard, on balconies, in the community or via other forms of shared growing – you’re a ‘Gardener’ in our food system. Which means you’re also a ‘Producer’!

Below you’ll find every local resource we currently know about that will help you as a Gardener (and Producer).

Want to get your hands dirty? Find out how you can get involved with your local community.

  • Community Gardens Australia.

    The Community Gardens Australia Network links people interested in city farming and community gardening across Australia.

    Incredibly, they’ve mapped many of Australia’s community gardens, school gardens, verge gardens, urban cooperative farms, and community-supported agriculture. Check out the map here.

  • Grow Free.

    Grow Free is a grassroots, community-building movement that promotes a sustainable culture of growing and sharing healthy food and other resources with our neighbours. Grow Free carts are placed in front of homes or businesses and filled with local produce offered free, with the motto “give what you can, take what you need.”

    Created in South Australia, Grow Free is now a national and international movement. You may also wish to join the Grow Free Facebook group.

  • Community Centres SA.

    For more than three decades, Community Centres SA has been a catalyst for community development by building the strength, capacity and influence of their sector. 

    They have some great information and resources on building community capacity, including some on community gardens.

  • Food Bank.

    Foodbank is Australia’s largest food relief organisation, helping frontline charities who are feeding vulnerable Australians. Foodbank provides more than 70% of the food rescued for food relief organisations nation-wide.

    In 2012, FoodBank and the South Australian Produce Market established an innovative partnership to secure a large warehouse. This warehouse become Foodbank’s Fruit & Veg Centre, where donations are sourced from fresh produce wholesalers to distribute via their warehouses and foodhubs.

  • OzHarvest.

    OzHarvest is another leading Australian food rescue organisation, collecting quality excess food from commercial outlets and delivering it directly to more than 1,300 charities supporting people in need across the country.

    OzHarvest began in SA in 2011. In 2019, OzHarvest Adelaide averaged rescuing 52 tonnes of quality surplus food per month, which was delivered to more than 130 charitable agencies across Adelaide and surrounds. One of OzHarvest’s education arms called Nourish is active here in SA, assisting at-risk youth with pathways to employment in the hospitality industry.

Want to brush up on your theory? Flick through our resources on all things community.

  • Growing Community: Starting and nurturing community gardens

    This South Australian-based online booklet on how to go about starting and nurturing community gardens was written by Claire Nettle in 2010. It was commissioned (and is still promoted) by the South Australian Department of Health.

  • Community Gardening: An Annotated Bibliography.

    This 2010 report by the Australian City Farms and Community Gardens Network aims to further understanding of community gardening in Australia. It is designed as an exhaustive list of guidebooks and manuals, books, Doctoral, Masters and Honours theses, articles in academic and professional journals, and a number of other research-based documents.

  • ‘Grow Your Own’ report

    ‘Grow Your Own: The potential value and impacts of residential and community food gardening’ was written by Poppy Wise in 2014.

    The research is based on a literature review, a survey of 1,390 households across Australia and interviews with experts and community gardeners.

  • How to set up your own urban agricultural project with a socio-environmental justice perspective.

    This 2014 guide by Tornaghi Chiara is an informative read for citizens, community groups and third sector organisations.

Visual learners and multitaskers rejoice! This video compilation is for you - all things community.

Help us uncover those working towards a regenerative local food system. Do you know of something we should add here?

Email hello@saurbanfood.org 

Meet our ‘Community’ connectors.

  • ‘Connectors’ are South Australians who volunteer their time to help link our network, providing information, contacts and connections to our members.

  • Christy Spier.

    Christy is the South Australian Representative for the Australian City Farms & Community Gardens Network.

    In short, she loves conversations and action that come out of creek beds, camps, parties, homes and neighbourhoods.

    Have a question for Christy? Join our network to gain Connector access, then just email us at hello@saurbanfood.org

  • Sharon McGann.

    Sharon is Chair of the Onkaparinga Food Security Collaborative (OFSC).

    The OFSC is an initiative of Healthy Cities Onkaparinga. Starting in 2018, they’ve run three forums that brought together food security groups, interested members of the community, government, council and other stakeholders to learn from each other and to share expertise, experience, resources, skills and information.

    Have a question for Sharon? Join our network to gain Connector access, just email us at hello@saurbanfood.org

  • Are you our missing connector?

    We are looking for another Connector – are you interested or already engaged in this space? Do you have good connections with others? Or do you keep up with relevant events?

    What’s involved? Less than an hour a month (when needed) responding to questions and letting us know about resources or events within your food space.

    Get in touch.