Home : Services : Community Services : Healthy Communities : Healthy Eating : Community Gardens

Community Gardens & Local Food Initiatives

The promotion of community fresh food initiatives, is a strategy of the local and regional health promotion plans which aim to increase access to affordable fresh produce to all members of the community, thereby improving healthy eating.

Alpine Health provides health promotion support for the following local projects

Community Gardens - Bright and Myrtleford
Harrietville Fresh Food Project - Food Swap
Wandi / Bright Food Swap
Mount Beauty Food Share

You can get involved with these local projects by:

attending to the garden
joining in the growing activities,
supporting local project through buying produce at the growers market and food swaps
attend monthly meetings if you would like to provide input into the projects

Find out more:

Bright Community Garden

The Bright Community Garden originally commenced with support from an Alpine Health Health Promotion officer. This project is fully community run and is now auspiced by Upper Ovens Valley Landcare.

Community Garden Location: Church Street, Bright

Working bees in the garden: Thursday afternoons 5-7pm

Monthly Food Share: 3^rd Thursday of the month after the working bee 7.00 pm

Monthly Market: ‘Make It, Bake It, Grow It’ - every 3rd Saturday of the month

Facebook: @brightcommunitygarden

Myrtleford Community Garden

Alpine Health supports the Myrtleford Community Garden as the auspicing body and by providing general support to assist the garden initiative.

Community Garden location - Lawrence Street, Myrtleford

Growers Market - Great Alpine Road, Myrtleford

Meetings - Monthly meeting - 2^nd Thursday evening of the month, 5:30pm-6:30/7pm at the Alpine Health Corporate Services building, O’Donnell Avenue, Myrtleford

Working bees in the garden: As required, notified on the Facebook page

Harrietville Fresh Food Project - Food Swap

This project is a community-driven local food initiative that aims to promote and provide local produce to the community. They do this through regular food and seed swap meets and food preservation and skill share days. They are working towards a community garden space for locals to enjoy.

A food swap is just like a farmers market, only the produce is all locally grown and is free to swap and share and the 'farmers' are our friends and neighbours.

You can bring anything you have that you wish to share; seedlings, seeds, old glass jars or wine bottles, herbs, spices or excess fruit from fruit trees. You can bring veggies from the garden or something that you've made yourself. You can bring cake or biscuits to share on the day or goodies for people to take home with them. There will be seasonal fruits and veggies, strawberry runners, raspberry suckers and a variety of seeds to take home. Some wild food and homemade goodies too.

If you don't have anything to bring - Come along anyway! You don't have to bring anything to be able to participate. This is about sharing abundance and building community. There will be tea and coffee available and you get to come home with some yummy produce.

It is FREE! Everything there is grown, made, shared and donated by people in the community. There is no rules about how much you are entitled to take home, but a good governing philosophy is "take what you need and leave what you can". Whatever you will eat or use you are welcome to take, but remember to leave some for others as well.

At this point, the only hard and fast rule we are adhering to is to minimize waste. So no plastic bags or single-use tags. We will have a jar deposit box where you can put old jars to replace the ones filled with produce. The tea and coffee have mugs and teacups available and we will try and only use reusable bags or cardboard boxes to take your goods home in.

Food Swap: Monthly - usually Saturday mornings - see Facebook page for updated details

Location: Harrietville Community Hall

Facebook: h arrietvillefreshfoodproject

Wandi Bright Food Swap

The Wandi Bright Food Swap is fully community-run initiative. Alpine Health shares their activities within the general community and offers general support as requested.

Everyone and anyone is invited to bring seasonal excess from the garden or kitchen e.g. herbs, veggies, fruit, seedlings, cuttings, seed, flowers, jams, pickles, cake, bread or whatever you have to swap for what you would like or don't grow. Swapping with others each month means more variety of seasonal food on your plate.

Food Swap: 1st Saturday of every month, 9.30am - 10.30am

Location: 795 Morses Creek Rd - corner of Austin Lane and Morses Creek Rd in the Wandiful Produce shed, Wandiligong (500m on left past Taylors Bridge).

Facebook: Join the closed group Wandi Bright Food Swap

Mount Beauty Food Share

Mount Beauty Neighbourhood Centre is inviting members of our community to come along to our Information and Garden Produce Sharing events. These are being held from 11 – 12 on the second Saturday of every month.

Bring along garden produce, seeds, plant cuttings, seedlings and much, much more! This is a great opportunity to share information and resources with your fellow gardening enthusiasts and meet like-minded people.

When: 2^nd Saturday of every month 11.00am – 12.00pm

Where: Mount Beauty Neighbourhood Centre

Tennis Court Avenue Mount Beauty

Web Page: www.mountbeauty.org.au

Follow us on Facebook: Mount Beauty Neighbourhood Centre