We've started Australia's first earth market and secured an outlet where our local farmers can sell their food direct to shoppers.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
In many cases the twice monthly Slow Food Earth Market in The Levee has turned farmers' lives around and is helping to keep them in business.
It's a fantastic result, but there is another vital aspect of the food chain that we have to tackle and that is price.
Cheap food is all around us. We live in a society where low prices are drummed into us, especially by the major supermarkets who advertise their specials in a bid to get us to walk through their door rather than the door of their competition.
We have come to expect low prices and that distorts our perspective about what monetary value food should, and needs, to hold according to how it has been made.
Let me take you back to the city's great pumpkin rescue in 2016. Before that happened the farmer was only being paid 25 cents per pumpkin at the Sydney food markets, and after the production and transport costs were factored in he was barely breaking even.
That's not sustainable, and he knew it.
When The Mercury and Slow Food Hunter Valley united to do something about it - and the city bought 20 tonnes of his pumpkin crop in 12 hours, it signalled a shift.
The farmer was paid $3 for every pumpkin - instead of the tiny 25 cents, and he made a profit. At that moment he saw a glimmer of hope for his future on the land, and his dream to allow his son to have a farming career as well.
Fast-forward to today and Matthew and Liam Dennis work side by side on the farm and it's buzzing with activity. The support from shoppers at the twice-monthly market - and with their weekly vegetable boxes, has shown them just how prosperous their future can be when they are paid a fair price for their product.
They are one of several farmers who are reaping the benefits of the market and using the money they make to add new varieties to their repertoire. They are also putting money towards improved farm infrastructure.
Our story today about the cost the Tilse family faces to grow apples in their drought-ravaged Upper Hunter orchard has raised some serious questions for shoppers.
They are in the midst of the worst drought in living memory and it's an absolute miracle there was a crop at all.
Farmer Steve Tilse brought his apples to the market and was selling them for $2.50 a kilogram. But, he actually needs to earn $3 a kilogram to to cover his costs - and that doesn't include any profit.
This isn't just an apple problem, or a pumpkin problem. It's a scenario all too familiar for a lot of small farmers and artisan producers.
So he should put the price up? Well, yes, that is the obvious thing to do, but he is worried that shoppers won't pay it.
That leads me back to my earlier point about our 'bargain' hunting society. Now we have an opportunity as a community to make a decision. We have to decide what the apples are worth, and how much we are prepared to pay to keep a drought-stricken farmer in business.
A profit margin is a must. If a farmer is not making a profit how can they afford to put food on their table and meet their living expenses? How can they afford to keep producing those apples for you to eat?
Their future depends on how much you're willing to pay for local food. Their future is literally in your hands.
It has been suggested the farmer makes 50 cents profit per kilogram. If 250 kilograms were sold that gives him $125 profit. Is that enough when the supermarkets are selling them for $4.90 to $6.99 a kg?
If the apples were sold for $4.90 a kilogram he would make a profit of $1.90 for every kilogram sold. Over 250 kilograms worth of apples that would leave him with $475.
Vote in the online poll and have your say about how much the community should pay for this special fruit.
We'll let you know the result. Don't forget to put the next market date - March 21, in your diary and she'll be apples.