Thank You

A BIG Food Skil Thank You to Leanne and Patrica for donating the fruit from their fruit tree, beautiful nectarines and enormous juicy peaches. Picked by our lovely volunteers. Plums and damsons to come.

2 & 5 Fresh Food Market at Cloverdale Community Centre changes to Thursdays.

The Fresh Food Market at Cloverdale Community Centre has been a great success in the 5 weeks it has been running. We have established a core group of about 30 customers, who are doing their regular weekly fruit and vegetable shop. We have seen groups such as Community Kitchens and the Mental Health Consumers union hold stalls at the market to promote their activities.

An Iranian couple are cooking beautiful Persian kebabs every week, which are well received by Food Skil volunteers and the users of the Cloverdale Community Centre. Sally a local grower in Lovely Banks is selling home grown and home made produce as well as supplying Food Skil with Organic Lettuce and Herbs. We have also received our first donation of fruit from a resident of Norlane, the Norlane Nectarine, with more damsons and cherry plums to follow.

After discussion with residents and volunteers we have decided to change the date of the market to Thursdays, or pension day, as it was felt that many people would of already budgeted for their food shop by the time the market comes around a week later. It was also felt that the market should run an hour later, stating at 10 a.m. and finishing at 2 p.m.

The market will take a two week break over Christmas and New Year with the last market being on the 21^st December at Cloverdale. The Market will restart on Thursday 12^th January 2012.

The market needs more stall holders, selling home grown or home produced food.

Please contact Katie Gillett 03 5245 3000 or katharined@workskil.com.au for more information. Residents of 3214/3215 do not have to pay for a stall.

Members of Food Skil receive a 5% discount so become a Food Skil member today. It’s FREE to join, the membership form can be downloaded from the Food Skil website

2 & 5 Fresh Food Shop opens in 2012

Food Skil opens first 2 & 5 Fresh Food Shop in Norlane.

 

Food Skil is a social enterprise set up to improve access to affordable, sustainable, fresh and healthy food. It began in July 2011 and has already achieved much in its short time.

• Food swaps at all three neighbourhood houses in Corio and Norlane. The Food Swaps are at different locations once a week from 9 a.m. -11 a.m.
  • 2^nd Tuesday of the month is at Norlane Neighbourhood House, Rose Ave, Norlane
  • 3^rd Saturday of the month is Cloverdale Community Centre, 167-169 Purnell Rd, Corio,
  • 4^th Saturday of the month is Rosewall Neighbourhood Centre, Sharland Rd, Corio
  • 2 & 5 Fresh Food Markets at Cloverdale Community Centre and Courthouse ARTS. These feature high quality affordable fruit and vegetables. All are Australian and some are locally and organically grown.

2012 will see some exciting developments for Food Skil. On the 10^th January 2012 Food Skil will open its first 2 & 5 Fresh Food Shop in Labuan Sq, Forster St, Norlane.

The City of Greater Geelong recently conducted a Supermarket Basket Survey of the region which confirmed that Norlane had no supermarket and was also the lowest SIEFA index in the region. The only supermarkets are Coles and Woolworths in the Corio Shopping Centre, which is across a main highway. Car ownership is low in Norlane, 14% of residents don’t own a car and 50% only own one per household (Background Structure Report, Corio and Norlane, City of Greater Geelong 2011).  Anecdotally residents are demanding a supermarket and access to fresh fruit and vegetables in Labuan Square Shopping Precinct, Norlane and somewhere walkable to purchase basic supplies such as milk and bread.

The shop will be co-located within Urban Bean, another social enterprise based in Norlane. Urban Bean is a not-for-profit cafe in Norlane, Geelong committed to developing and supporting strong local communities.

The 2 & 5 Fresh Food Shop will:

• Operate weekly during school hours, including school holidays. Initially during the cafe hours of Tuesday to Friday, from 9.30 till 4 p.m.
• Be staffed by volunteers and trainees.
• Be a venue for other community organisations to promote their activities i.e. Barwon Health, Salvation Army and Geelong Emergency Food Relief.
• Provide a venue for volunteers to learn job skills through Training such as Food Handling, Retail and contribute to their job ready skills.
• Provide affordable high quality fruit and vegetables cheaper than the local supermarkets.
• Source fresh fruit and vegetables from a local wholesaler  to be sold through the shop front at Labuan Sq. This will be supplemented with produce from the Market Garden once it is established as well as produce bought from backyard producers.
• Free deliveries-At the end of the operating hour’s food purchases will be delivered for those unable to take them home.
• Unsold food will be donated to local emergency food relief organisations.
• Organic waste will be composted or fed to backyard chickens.
• Education on nutritional food choices and cooking skills

 

Food Skil needs more volunteers to help run the shop:

Please contact:

Katie Drummond-Gillett or Susan Tattersall at 03 5245 3000 or katharined@workskil.com.au

 

First Two Weeks

The first two 2 & 5 Fresh Food Markets at Cloverdale Community Centre have been a great success, with a good customer base being built, happy stallholders and happy Food Skil volunteers, or as we like to call them the Food Skil army!
We still need to make more sales in order to make a profit and keep running, so please tell your friends and family in Corio to get their Fruit and Vegetables at the 2 & 5 Fresh Food Market at Cloverdale Community Centre, 167-169 Purnell Rd.
So far the other stallholders are:
• The Mental Health Consumers Union running a sausage sizzle and selling handmade kitchen items
• Sally from Lovely Banks selling home grown lettuces and herbs and cakes
• Elizabeth from North Shore selling Mulberries, honey and home made jam and lemon curd
• Community Kitchens promoting their program
We hope to see more stall holders in the coming weeks, selling food and plants. So bring your friends and family down to the 2 & 5.
Katie Gillett
P.S. We open our first market in the city this Friday 18th at Courthouse ARTS so come down and say hello. We will be there from 12 p.m. -6p.m.

New 2 & 5 Market at Courthouse ARTS Friday afternoon

We have just confirmed a new market on a Friday afternoon at Courthouse ARTS Cnr Gerringhap and LIttle Malop St, Central Geelong.
This will not only bring affordable fruit and vegetables to the workers in the city but also make fresh fruiet and vegetables availible to the clients using Headspace around the corner.

Food Swaps go viral

Food Swaps
Turn lettuce into tomatoes!

Put some homegrown food on the swap table, and take whatever you think is a fair exchange.

Local organisation Foodskil started the Corio Bay Food Swaps and there are now 6 across the region organised by various groups.

An honour system, no need to haggle, and it’s free.

Bring: homegrown fruit, veg, herbs, seeds, plants, eggs, homemade jam etc.

Nothing to swap? Excess produce is usually offered for sale after 10am.

Meet like-minded people in your community.
Reduce your food bills and food miles.

Corio

3rd Saturday 9.30-10.30am
Cloverdale Community Centre
167 Purnell Rd, Corio
Contact: Foodskil 5245 3000

4th Saturday 9.30-10.30am
Rosewall Neighbourhood Centre
36 Sharland Rd, Corio
Contact: Foodskil 5245 3000

Norlane
2nd Tuesday 9.00am – 10.30am

NOTE: Venue relocation!!

No 2 Labuan Square , Forster st Norlane.

Out the front of the Urban Bean Cafe!

CLICK here to checkout the Urban Bean Cafe.

Norlane Community Centre
Rose Ave, Norlane
Contact: Foodskil 5245 3000

Manifold Heights
1st Saturday 9.00 – 10.30am
Manifold Heights Primary School, Manifold St
Enquiries: 0418 501 998

Belmont
2nd Saturday 9.00 – 10.30am
Wine Justice, 140 High St, Belmont
Enquiries: Transition South Barwon

Drysdale
1st Saturday 9.00 – 11.00am
Springdale Neighbourhood Centre
$10 membership fee
Contact: jill@drysdaleharvestbasket.org

To find out more about food swaps or for help in starting your own please contact:

Katie Gillett
Foodskil
Ph 03 5245 3000

Check out our Facebook fan Page!

Earth Garden Article on Food Swaps

Food Swap Article Earth Garden

The First Market Starts 9th November

 

Wednesdays 9.30 a.m. till 1.00 p.m.
Fruit and Vegetables
Cooking demonstrations
Discounts for Concession card holders
FREE Delivery
Starts Wednesday 9th November
Cloverdale Community Centre
167-169 Purnell Rd, Corio, 3214
If you would like a stall or more information please contact Katie Gillett
Email: katharined@workskil.com.au Tel: (03) 5245 3000

Volunteers-the lifeblood of our organisation

Well this week has been spent talking to volunteers about the organisation, and how they can help. So far we have Koh, Cameron, Syama, Helen, Sue & Lorna.
Thank you for all your support.
If you want to volunteer contact Katie at (03) 5245 3000 or katharined@workskil.com.au

Our first official volunteer

Today a lovely Karen lady Koh Tha Noe came to see us about volunteering for the2 & 5 Food Market at Cloverdale Community Centre, and she is happy to volunteer her time. We will see her again when the volunteers get together for their first ‘induction’. Food Skil is underway, exciting times.