Celebrating Sustainable & Healthy Local Food
2020 Festival Program

The theme for the 2020 Food for Thought Festival is Courageous Leadership: Enabling systems change through regenerative food and agricultural systems. Featuring the impressive and inspiring Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund - Farm to Plate Director, Jake Claro, Commonland’s Dieter van den Broek and our very own Dr Nick Rose from Sustain: The Australian Food Network.
As Western Australia prepares to develop a State Food Security Plan there is no better time for WA and the Great Southern to hear the successes and challenges Jake Claro learned at Vermont Farm to Plate.
Participants will for the first time be able to hear directly from Jake Claro, who has been Director of the Vermont Farm to Plate Plan since 2012. Jakes not to be missed presentation will address matters of direct relevance and importance to policy-makers and stakeholders working at the local and state government levels in Australia including:
Viability challenges for regenerative farmers / farmers delivering social/environmental goods and the public investment argument to support them
The realities / challenges / key success factors for food distribution enterprises
How to combine economic development goals with enhancing good food access and tackling food insecurity
What have been the critical success factors for the major successes achieved in the first 10 years of the Farm to Plate Plan
Policy frameworks and funding requirements to implement the Farm to Plate Plan
Governance, engagement and the role of Collective Impact methodology.
Schedule of Events
The program is brought to you by Community Food Events and Sustain: The Australian Food Network in collaboration with Commonland, GreenSkills, RegenWA and the University of Western Australia - Centre for Social Impact.
Thank you to our 2020 sponsors and supporters! It’s only with your continued support that the festival can showcase Western Australia as a world leader in regenerative, healthy and democratic food systems.
This years key festival events kick off on March 19th in Albany and will show off a combination of Innovation Studios that build on the food system Dialogue Studios carried out in 2019, two RegenWA field days for farmers, two long table dinners with the amazing Fervor, the Sustainable Communities Festival with GreenSkills and finally a Slow Food Italian Autumn Feast at Oranje Tractor. There is something for everyone so go ahead and reserve your place at the table now.
Scholarships/student/pensioner discounts available upon application for all events. Please email hello@foodforthoughtfestival.
Workshops & Field Days
Long table events
Community Events
VOLUNTEER WITH US!
Opportunities are available for volunteers to assist with the delivery of the 2020 Food for Thought Festival. We welcome community volunteers to assist with one or more events over the period from 19th March to 23rd March.
To register your interest to be a volunteer, please email [email protected]