good food boost logo

When the world seems so gut-wrenchingly awful and determined to crush the most vulnerable even further into the ground it’s kind of hard to write about events and launches and delicious food (yes, truly we are the ones suffering, etc. Not). So if we can spotlight people doing good work, like Epuni School’s Unity Garden I guess now is even more important than ever.

The gardens came up during talks at the launch of the Sustainable Business Network & Wellington City Council’s Good Food Boost  programme last night.

Four businesses will be chosen to be part of an eight-week programme to receive support and guidance from leading mentors to give their good food businesses a boost.

The Good Food Boost has been run in Auckland by the Sustainable Business Network and Auckland Tourism Events & Economic Development (ATEED) for the last three years. This is the first year the competition is coming to Wellington.

I have had some ..feelings… about a number of factors about different aspects of “ethical choices” and sustainability before (such as: affordability, accessibility, clothing labels that don’t make clothes over size 14, Nadia Lim implying learning to cook via My Food Bag is a solution for a disease that is created by poverty and a million other things that basically all boil down to privilege) so looking at the entry criteria for what counts as ‘Good Food’ makes for encouraging reading:

Good food:

  • Is legal, safe, healthy and nutritious
  • Contributes to local economies.
  • Reduces ‘waste’ and inefficiencies.
  • Protects water, soil and biodiversity.
  • Is transparent about where it comes from and how it is grown and cared for.
  • Recognises and enhances cultural diets and food practices.
  • Increases the market share for good food.

Those are all things I can get behind. And of course, I support people making ethical food choices for themselves and their families. I want those choices to be available to everyone.

My thoughts are all really rather jumbled right now after today’s heartbreak, but one thing I am clear on: can we please keep speeches at events to under 20 minutes if there’s no seating? Even when people have great things to say! And also, if you’re a food business somewhere from the Horowhenua to Marlborough, the Good Food Boost is a great opportunity, and you should get amongst it.