Story by Ross Mars, June 2015
Feeding Convergence attendees
How often have you heard that we should practice what we preach? There has always been contention by Convergence attendees that each group should obtain local, freshly grown produce and to grow as much food as possible to feed participants. In our current age of OHS and safety this is not always possible or easy. Caterers have to, by law, be able to document where food comes from and to ensure high public safety. For example, if someone came down with food poisoning then the Department of Health or some other similar government body would insist on a paper trail of where the food came from and what steps were put in place to ensure a low risk of contamination.
When we investigated venues to hold the Convergence for 2016, it became clear that most venues do not allow self-catering. Any venues that did were not suitable or large enough. We were obliged to use the caterers that came with the venue.
APC13 committed to sourcing local, organic food
You may now be able to appreciate that while growing food for a Permaculture Convergence is the ideal, there will be obstacles to overcome to make even part of this possible. Nevertheless, Perth is committed to work with the caterers to make their job easier to source good, local organic food, and to supply what condiments and other treats we can. We will be growing food and we intend to make this available to accredited suppliers and to liaise with growers to ensure the best possible outcomes for everyone.
