THE SOIL FOOD WEB & THE GIVING SEASON
I have been thinking a lot about Christmas traditions lately. And naturally it’s got me thinking about plants and the soil food web system. Plants have an inbuilt mechanism for giving, an inherent sharing wisdom. Plants freely exude precious sugars they’ve made from photosynthesis into the soil around them, feeding bacteria and fungi.
Plants don’t have to do this for survival, but by doing so they create a community where the bacteria and fungi in turn provide plants with minerals, water, a better soil structure and protection from infection. So powerful is this system of giving that the soil food web has evolved to become the key land-based productive system on our planet (it’s good to remember that despite the lofty place we hold ourselves, we humans are just here at the grace of plant generosity).
Plants have no choice about giving but we do. Our natural instincts to hold on tightly to what we have are very, very strong. As a parent one of my biggest challenges has been teaching 3 year olds how to share – something some of our corporations also seem to struggle with. If plants followed our selfish lead, all the benefits of community would disappear and their soil food web would fall apart. Same goes for us, and yet even though we know it deep down, it still takes bravery, a certain amount of faith and time for us to get past the greedy brain and give.
And as Eleonore has written recently, being a Food Host is this kind of giving – somebody gives their time and their verandah each week and it builds community – people say hi, sometimes friendships are made, customers and Food Hosts help each other when orders go wrong, simple things. It just takes a little bravery, faith and time to create the ideal conditions for us to grow in our own human food webs.
Happy giving season!
Chris
Some Giving Suggestions this Christmas:
- Say hi to a stranger picking up from a Food Host at the same time as you
- Contact friends or family you haven’t had time for this year
- Volunteer somewhere – a neighbour who could use a hand, your school or a local community organisation
- Donate or buy your presents from a giving organisation like our friends at The Asylum Seeker Resource Centre and Social Traders
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GIVE THE GIFT OF FAIR FOOD
The festive season is a time of giving, and to help you give a gift that gives more, we’ve created an easy way for you to spread the love and good tidings with a gift of locally sourced and fairly traded organic food. When you give a Fair Food Gift Card you support farmers, help Fair Food employ disadvantaged workers and contribute to CERES' environmental education projects.
PUT YOUR GIFTS TO GOOD WORK
To purchase a gift card, simply select Gift Cards from the webstore menu. Fill in the form; write a short message and then checkout. You’ll receive an emailed Gift Card with a unique code, which you can print out or simply forward on. We'll also send a wee flyer for you to send on, which has some info on what Fair Food is all about!
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ORGANIC FREE RANGE CHRISTMAS TURKEYS
Madelaine & Arthur are on a quest to help make our food systems more humane. Apart from supplying us with beautiful organic eggs from happy free-ranging hens, the young duo at Hollyburton Farm are raising organic turkeys for Christmas.
These birds are raised on organic feed, free ranged on fresh grass under Hollyburton orchards. Order here!
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GIFTS THAT GIVE MORE
Christmas is a wonderful time to make meaningful moments with the people we care most about. But our festive season can also seem a little perverse at times. Our special time of thanksgiving can sometimes feel co-opted by the onslaught of advertising, and the pressure placed upon us to buy, buy, buy more stuff and things.
For the perfect antidote, give gifts that give more this Christmas. A few of our friends have made it super easy to do just that!
| OXFAM | ASRC | GOOD GIFT SHOP | RSPCA |
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ORGANIC CHOC PANFORTE
CERES' Merri Table are making an Organic Christmas Panforte recipe with pinches from the spice palette, including a few natives.
Balancing fruity twists of native pepper with aniseed myrtle, chocolate, nuts & honey from our own hives, Panforte makes an excellent Christmas dessert, served with cheese, fruits and quince paste.
Order here!
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PIP. AUSTRALIAN PERMACULTURE MAGAZINE.
Pip, Australia's own permaculture magazine, is proudly launching their first issue in March 2014.
Pip is the magazine for our Australian permaculture community, and the place for people and groups to connect, share ideas, knowledge and experience, and to stay in touch with what's happening around Australia.
Pip magazine is your guide to integrating permaculture and sustainability into your life. Pip magazine is about all aspects of permaculture and will feature informative in-depth articles on a variety of topics as well as profiles on people, projects, gardens, farms, houses and businesses.
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There will be 'how to' guides, recipes, reviews and a directory containing permaculture related businesses, courses and people. And the first edition will feature articles by David Holmgren, Kirsten Bradley, Daniel Harris-Pascal to name a few.
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So if you're looking for a sustainable and ethical Christmas gift, look into the Pip Patron Subscription Pack, which includes a 2014 Permaculture Principles calendar, Pip market tote bag, one year magazine subscription (gift cards available) and your name on the Pip supporters page in the magazine. All for just $50 + postage. Or you might like to give a gift subscription, only $19 + postage. Gift cards available now, first issue out March 2014.
Visit www.pipmagazine.com.au and help Pip grow by subscribing and supporting the launch of this independently published permaculture magazine. And keep your eyes open on their Facebook page for upcoming news of their Pozible crowdfunding campaign, which offers great rewards in return for donations towards printing!
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FAIR FOOD HOLIDAY CLOSURE
CHRISTMAS CLOSURE AND LAST 2013 DELIVERY DATES
Fair Food will be closed from 3pm Christmas Eve (December 24th) until Monday 6th January
Our last Tuesday Food Host delivery will be Tuesday 24th December
Our last Wednesday Home Delivery will be Wednesday 18th December
Our last Thursday Food Host delivery will be Thursday 19th December
We reopen Monday 6th January with deliveries as normal that week
Please note some Food Hosts may be closed for extra holidays and you will not be able to select the dates they are closed if you try to order.
FOOD HOST HOLIDAY CLOSURES
Glenlyon Rd, North Fitzroy: 19th Dec until reopen on 30th Jan
Clarke St, Northcote: 24th Dec & 14th Jan
Peckville St, Clifton Hill: 24th Dec
Weidlich Rd, Eltham North: 24th Dec & 7th Jan
Union St, Northcote: 7th Jan
Morley Cres, Box Hill North: 9th & 16th Jan
Our office will be open Tuesday 24th December until 3pm, and any urgent customer service issues (ordering issues, credits, etc) will be handled promptly on Friday 27th December. Please keep in mind we will be unable to offer product replacements and deliveries after the 24th of December due to the holiday closure.
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BIG CONGRATS TO THE WESTERN DESERT DIALYSIS PROJECT FOR WINNING THE INAUGURAL ETHICAL ENTERPRISE AWARD FOR 2013!
Western Desert Dialysis is a most deserving project, achieving great outcomes and supporting the social fabric of remote-living desert communities. A big thanks also to Moral Fairground and Australian Ethical for putting on an amazing awards ceremony, and for recognising CERES as a finalist. It was truly inspiring to be amongst such passionate and successful social entrepreneurs.
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WHAT'S NEW IN THE WEBSTORE?
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RETURN YOUR BOXES, ESKIES AND ICE BLOCKS
You may be a little possessive of your Fair Food boxes. We understand. Keep them, fill them with grass clippings, or let your little ones upcycle them... racing cars to castles, we've seen it all!
But if a backlog of clean boxes are starting to pile up, precariously stacked in all corners of your home, then put them out to pasture. And if you're finding your prized seconds aren't being picked up for whatever reason, email us and we'll follow it up.
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