"Nurturing land, nourishing people"
Food Next Door matches under-utilised farmland with landless farmers to support small-scale regenerative farming, growing diverse crops & engaging people from diverse backgrounds to supply food to local households.
donate to help us grow.
Your donation will help secure land for regenerative farming practices, strengthen our local food economies, and build your local community.
Donate Form
By clicking ‘Donate Now’ you confirm you are over the age of 18, and have accepted the Terms & Conditions.
Food Next Door is an initiative with the goal of relieving the suffering or distress suffered by newly arrived migrants and refugee groups, particularly those without access to land and living in rural and regional areas.
We're working hard to solve this issue by supporting these groups to re-engage in farming and grow food, including their traditional foods.
This will be achieved by, amongst other things:
- Sourcing and negotiating access to land for the groups to use for farming
- Providing ongoing assistance and support to the groups to farm the land.
- Creating new distribution channels for the groups to sell their produce.
Our secondary objects are to:
- Build our soils and encourage regenerative farming practices.
- Strengthen local food economies through diversification of produce.
- Increase the number of small-scale farms to provide high quality produce to local markets.
- Strengthen overall community cohesion in the long term.
Pilot Projects
Food Next Door’s vision is for under-utilised and vacant farmland to be transformed into productive foodscapes using regenerative farming practices.
We are establishing a community demonstration farm based in Mildura, north-west Victoria, to progress this vision.
Victoria
Sunraysia Burundian Garden
New South Wales
Community Connections Garden
What's a Co-Op?
Co-operatives are organisations owned by members for the benefit of members.
They are different from other organisations because their priority is to have social and economic impact. Food Next Door also aims to have an environmental impact.
Co-ops around the world are guided by the Co-Operative Principles, which include democracy, open and inclusive voluntary membership, concern for community, and education.
Interested in becoming a member of Food Next Door?
In The News
Earth Canvas - In Conversation
The panel discussion highlights the creative experiences of the regenerative farmers and the artists, and delves into their respective engagement with the land and their vision for a healthier world.
The Wintersun - Episode 5
Local short doco series The Wintersun featured us for their fifth Youtube episode. We talk Local Food Economy, Out of the Box, and Sunraysia's Food Future.
From Soil to Everything
Watch the story about Food Next Door Co-Op's purpose, and how we work closely with Mildura Community Water Bank & Out of the Box to achieve our goals.
Food Next Door multi-stakeholder co-op explained
A co-op education resource made by Sidsel Grimstad for University of Newcastle.
Food Next Door Autumn news 2022 🍂 - mailchi.mp/806425067ed7/food-next-door-co-op-autumn2022-news-15324874
#Repost @sustainable.table with @make_repost
・・・
@foodnextdoorcoop is doing amazing work to support the growth of local food systems in the Sunraysia region. 🌱🌏
We’re excited to be funding their work to develop an accessible and culturally relevant training program for community members and small-scale farmers, originally from East Africa.
Check it out!
Slide 1:
ID: Photo of Food Next Door Co-op members. Text: Food Next Door Co-op is incubating small-scale farmers.
Slide 2:
Food Next Door Co-op matches abandoned farmland to skilled farmers and former refugees seeking land, growing the local food system in the Sunraysia region. They are using the funding to develop a culturally relevant training program for new migrant farmers that covers important areas like sales, marketing, supply chain logistics and regenerative practices.
#regenerativeagriculture #regenag #regenerators #Australia #agriculture #sustainabletable #sustainabletablefund #foodnextdoorcoop
We were honoured to host a social enterprise bus tour at the farm today. Everyone learnt that peanuts grow underground and were excited to taste fresh peanuts!
@socialenterprise.network.vic
#communitydemonstrationfarm
#diversepeoplediversecrops
#africanfarmersinaustralia
#cooperativefarming
#communityfarming
What saucery is this...!! I hope all were satéd 🤔
How fantastic to see the Darling Harvest Gin featured in Gourmet Traveller, raising awareness of @mildura_community_water_bank
.
#Repost @chalmerswine with @make_repost
・・・
// THE ITALIAN ISSUE
Thrilled to have our Mother Block White featured in the always epic, and Chalmers fave @gourmettraveller issue; The Italian Issue.
Grazie @sl_payne for including us, telling the tales, and spreading the good word of small scale production, Mediterranean focused local vini & tipples popping up and making ripples in our beloved Murray Darling region and beyond. Great to be alongside industry friends and colleagues @mandi.wine @fosseysgin @soswines @handpickedwines
#murraydarling #proudlymurraydarling
OUR ECO‑SYSTEM
We exist as a piece in a puzzle, working hard to connect the links between planting seeds to selling (and eating!) produce.
Out of the Box
Food Next Door run a weekly local produce box to supply our community with local produce grown by small-scale regenerative farmers.
The enterprise is based on three connected principles:
· Fair returns to growers
· Building community, and
· Regenerating our soils.
Mildura community water bank
Mildura Community Water Bank helps small-scale farmers access an affordable price on water to help them grow organic, sustainable produce without the pressures of commodified water pricing.
“This project is very important for the local community, helping the small-scale farmers to get access to affordable irrigation water for their farms to produce local fresh crops, to produce vegetables at a reasonable price that is affordable by everyone.”
– Jules Kangeta, Project Manager
Our Values
Nurturing
Food Next Door works to care for the land through growing, distributing and sharing food.
Community
We work to build community through growing, distributing and sharing food.
inclusion
We include people from diverse ethnic backgrounds, religious beliefs, gender and sexual identity, and age, who contribute as farmer and producer, consumer,
volunteer and landholder-members.
We welcome contributions from all Co-op members.
respect
We respect and acknowledge the knowledge and skills of all members. We respect and acknowledge the Traditional Owners on whose land we work.
We recognise their knowledge and skills in actively managing our land and waters for millennia.
Co-operation
We seek ways to work together.
Our Team
Click on our respective photographs to learn more about the team behind Food Next Door.
Ben Dunn
CHAIRPERSON & CO‑FOUNDER
Darryl Lang
Director
Deborah Bogenhuber
Secretary & Co‑Founder
Jennifer Douglas
Landholder
Joel Sindayigaya
Co‑Founder
Joselyne Majambere
Director
Kubota Songa
Director
Peter Webb
Former Grower's Mentor
Reece Cameron
Director & Co‑Founder
Rob Brown
Director
Sevilla Furness-Holland
Director & Co‑Founder
Our Advisory Board
Dr Ann Apps
Advisory Board Member
Dr Fabiola Barba Ponce
Advisory Board Member
Dr Natascha Klocker
Advisory Board Member
Dr Sidsel Grimstad
Advisory Board Member
Olivia Dun
Advisory Board Member
Sam Byrne
Advisory Board Member
food next door
gratefully acknowledges our supporters & partners
food next door
ARE PROUD MEMBERS OF THE FOLLOWING:
get in touch
or if you’d like to try a week of Out of the Box’s fresh subscription produce, kindly click here.