The Albany office has been running a ‘Food is Free’ cart since 2017 at 38 Graham Street, inspired by the Food is Free laneway in Ballarat, VIC. Over the last two years, hundreds of kilograms of fruit and vegetables have been given away from this humble little upcycled cart. The Food is Free concept started in Austin, Texas and has now spread around the world with over 350 cities participating. It’s a great way to build community and connect excess food to people who can use it.
The Green Skills Albany office has several raised garden beds and grows seasonal vegetables when volunteer labour & staff energy allows. We currently have one volunteer working in our garden and have planted summer seedlings such as zucchini and tomatoes. Upcycled wicking beds in the front yard are a great way of keeping the vegies going through summer holidays with gaps in garden watering. The garden produce on the Food is Free cart mostly comes from the office gardens and staff home vegetable gardens.
You can participate by dropping off your own homegrown produce or taking whatever you find on the cart. Please don’t leave items that can blow away, such as egg cartons, as this location is windy. The cart has been on the verge in the past but it now lives under the veranda where it is shadier.
The Green Skills Food is Free cart is available to the community whenever the gates are open, which is roughly 9-3pm weekdays (may be earlier or later depending on staffing). Keep an eye out on our Facebook page for current offerings. While you’re there, you may want to bring your coffee pods, toothbrushes or old pens for recycling in the TerraCycle program.
You might even like to set up a Food is Free space or edible verge garden at your place. Find out how here.