Our Community »  Youth Food Movement

YFM is building a new generation of young Australians who have the capacity and motivation to support and demand a health and secure food system. YFM is a place where both the feeders and the fed can come together to learn, share and connect with one another and most importantly, provide an opportunity to act on our new found ideas and solutions. We harness the unique ability of young people to connect and inspire their peers to be more considered with their food choices.  Our hope is to deepen our generations relationship with their food by sharing the stories behind it via unique, engaging and thought provoking events, campaigns and experiences.

We’re kept up at night by the reality that our generation is about to inherit an unsustainable food system, and we lack the skills and knowledge to know what to do with it. We’re also kept excitedly awake by all the amazing food initiatives that are popping up all around us, particularly those driven by young minds. As the generation most open to change, young adults have a valuable perspective and skill set to bring to the table to create the change we need to see in our food system to feed our nation in the future.

Oh we have many wishes, but the one we think needs to be addressed with the utmost enthusiasm is growing a generation of producers with skills and knowledge to farm in a range of environmentally regenerative ways from small to large scale. This must go hand in hand with building a base of conscious consumers who can support this breed of farmers, while making this food accessible and affordable to all irrespective of their income or gender or post code. To do this we need to rebuild and shorten the link between the feeders and the fed.

We’re pretty proud of our low impact and near zero waste events! We hold thought provoking events throughout the year that get people thinking about food issues, but more importantly, they get people immediately acting about these issues. For example each year we hold a Ride On Lunch, while the day is about eating, you also learn how to grow a plant at a community garden and meet local food champions. With this event the only fuel on the day was food, with all food waste being donated to community gardens to be composted – this includes cutlery!

Our annual Reel Food Night, a pedal powered pop up cinema, saw 250 young Sydney-siders learn more about Australia’s aging farming population. We had a food truck, locally sourced wine and beer bar, and home made pop-corn!  After the 250 mouths were fed, bums seated comfortably, and minds fueled with ideas and information, we only had a half bag of non-recyclable or compostable waste.

We would die happy eating a local, seasonal meal that has a net positive impact on our health, the health of the environment and the health of the people or community who had a role in producing the meal. Think apples from Bilpin, Asian greens from Common2Us in Dural, milk and cheese from Country Valley in Picton. Essentially a meal from a diverse and resilient localised food system!

Get to know us and our work by heading to www.youthfoodmovement.org.au, following us on Facebook/YFMAustralia or on Twitter @YFMSydney. By joining our mailing list or following us on social media you’re a part of the movement and will be first to hear of our upcoming events including this years Reel Food Night where we’ll be screening our own short film about the great producers who feed Sydney.