On Tuesday, May 6, Impact Hour Illawarra hosted a sustainability meet-up and ideas exchange at Reub Goldberg Brewing Machine, Tarrawanna. About 40 people attended the event, eager to learn about local, sustainable food.

Speaker, author and event host Phil Preston says: “The biggest, most consistent theme that came out of this event was that local consumers and residents mightn’t have a real understanding about the options available in local food.”

The panel of sustainable food business experts answered questions about the future of local food, and what’s already being done to bring fresh local food to the area. 

The panel included:

• Jo-Anne Fahey, managing director of Darkes Glenbernie, a sixth-generation family fruit farm at Darkes Forest;
• Ryan Aitchison, publican of the Illawarra Hotel, managing director of the Smith Street Distillery and president of Business Illawarra’s Regional Advisory Council;
• Rod Logan, market garden coordinator at Green Connect, chair of Thirroul's Flame Tree Food Co-op and co-founder of the Woonona Community Garden;
• Professor Karen Charlton, an expert in nutrition and dietetics at the University of Wollongong;
• Phil Preston, author of Connecting Profit with Purpose, co-founder of Impact Hour and Purpose Ignition.

“People were after some education around the seasonality of food – what’s the difference between supermarket options and going directly to a primary producer, or Green Connect, or someone else,” Phil says.

“Then, we were looking forward to how those producers and players in the region market what they’re doing, and what they are already doing, and how to educate the local community about that.”

Impact Hour Illawarra aims to bring together people passionate about business and sustainability to connect, learn and grow together. Since November last year, Impact Hour has hosted themed events every few months for local sustainability enthusiasts, researchers and climate-focused businesses. Attendees are welcomed to ask questions and join the conversation.

Phil says that Impact Hour is looking to bring together smaller local producers who are doing interesting things for their next event.

“The first couple events we did were on more of a climate/environmental theme. We’re still going to do more in that area, but we’ve got to come over to the food theme because there’s a lot of interest there,” he says.

“It’s great when someone says, ‘I’m growing food and doing it sustainably and everything’s great’, and everyone around them claps. But we want to work on understanding how do you actually build more systems, how do you reinforce the system, not just for one-offs but in a way that’s helping everyone.”

Reub Goldberg Brewing Machine owners Anna and Billy told their story at a previous Impact Hour meet-up. Their business boasts 80 solar panels, and focuses on community and sustainable practices. The pair featured in Wollongong City Council’s Net Zero Heroes series, which highlighted their waste management strategies – with waste going to local livestock and permaculture at Tarrawanna Public School.

“They are an incredibly sustainable business themselves. Every week, the amount of rubbish they produce fills less than three wheelie bins. They’ve really got it together. We’re very glad they could host us for this event,” Phil says.

For more information about Impact Hour Illawarra and future events, email Phil at phil@philpreston.com.au