ONE of twelve young people to be chosen for VicHealth\u2019s Youth Food Systems Leadership and Employment Program has said while he is proud to be doing such work, he is uncertain about his future in the food industry.<\/p>\n
Ethan Loosmore, who now works for Bendigo Foodshare, said he was doing casual gardening work during his year 12 in 2022 when he connected with the manager of Golden Gums Farm in Strathfieldsaye.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s since worked at the farm, selling its produce at markets, and doing educational outreach to local schools through the program for about a year, and training sessions about three times each month.<\/p>\n
Last year VicHealth announced it would invest $4 million across seven Food Hubs around Victoria over three years as part of its Future Healthy Initiative.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith that [the funding] we\u2019ve made the farm, and we\u2019re selling at markets, and we\u2019ve funded a couple of markets to start up,\u201d said Mr Loosmore.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re also going into schools… I\u2019ve been to quite a few school lessons talking about food insecurity and giving them cooking skills.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said Bendigo Foodshare is working with groups such as the Karen community to grow vegetables less common in local shops such as okra.<\/p>\n
Although Mr Loosmore said the experience had been positive overall and that he could see its impact on the community, he had concerns about its long-term financial viability.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe funding was given to us in the hopes that we\u2019d be able to be self-sustainable at the end of it, employ people and keep them employed and keep this going for multiple years,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe reality of it is that it\u2019s not really, and [for] every other food hub that has been given funding, it doesn’t look very hopeful that they\u2019re going to be self-sustainable.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe reality is, it\u2019s hard work and the amount that you work doesn\u2019t always reflect the amount that you get paid.<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean, I would like to be doing something like this, but maybe in a few more years when the food system\u2019s a bit more developed.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ONE of twelve young people to be chosen for VicHealth\u2019s Youth Food Systems Leadership and Employment Program has said while he is proud to be doing such work, he is uncertain about his future in the food industry. Ethan Loosmore, who now works for Bendigo Foodshare, said he was doing casual gardening work during his […]<\/p>\n