Sunday, October 9, 2011

Moreland Food Swaps: Grow, swap, eat! Easy huh?

The Urban Orchard at Clarence Park Community Centre.
Photo: Joel Catchlove,
Food swaps are the solution to a dilemma I find myself in occasionally - what to do if I actually manage to get a decent crop of something, I've eaten my fill and preserved what I can.

We're pretty lucky to have at least one food swap every weekend somewhere in Moreland (you'll find details on our Moreland Food Swaps page).

If you don't know how food swaps work, it's easy....

Say you grow lots of beetroots (like I did this year) and, although you like beetroot (like I do), after beetroot dip, beetroot soup, roasted beetroot, steamed beetroot leaves, beetroot salad and pickled beetroot, then giving some to friends.... you've really had enough.

That's where the food swap comes in.

It's the first Saturday of the month, so I take my remaining beetroots to the PepperTree Place food swap right in the middle of Coburg (cnr Bell St and Sydney Rd) where other people have taken their surplus. I leave my beetroots and come away with a fair portion of what others have left. See, easy!

You might wonder, while you stand at the table looking at what's there, "How much is enough?". Don't worry, you'll know, just take what feels right. If you feel awkward, talk to the other people there, everyone had a first time and went through the same thing.

So, if your produce starts to mount up, make your way along say hello and swap your surplus for someone else's.

In case you didn't see it, back in March there was a great article in The Age about food swaps. It features amongst others, Coburg's own Inner North Urban Harvest.
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