Whittlesea
How would you define your region?
Whittlesea is an outer Melbourne suburb, but it still feels like a small country town.
The City of Whittlesea (local council) encompasses suburbs from Bundoora, Lalor, Thomastown, Epping, South Morang, Whittlesea, Mill Park, Doreen and Mernda.
In the last decade the northern growth corridor has seen a large number of new families into the outer northern region.
What is your region famous for?
The Whittlesea township is 40km north of Melbourne.
It hosts the Whittlesea Show annually, which is one of Victoria’s largest agricultural shows, attracting 50,000 visitors.
Another popular local attraction is Funfields Theme Park, which is the state’s biggest Theme Park.
What specific challenges do you wish to assist and support within your region?
Whittlesea township has just one supermarket (IGA), which means when there are supply chain issues, there is a need to buy food from outside the township. Our desire is to fortify Whittlesea and surrounding suburbs from these issues with workshops on food preservation and gardening.
What plans/events do you have that can support your region?
Food preservation workshops
Gardening club (seed saving, seed/seedling swap)
Coffee meetup
Contacts for other local support groups in your region?
Whittlesea Foodshare - can help with food. It is located at Whittlesea Uniting Church 26 Forest Street, Whittlesea. Phone number is 9716 2340 or 0407 348 599 and is open on Tuesdays 12.00pm – 3.00pm and Wednesdays from 11.00am to 2.00pm and no appointments are necessary.
Personal message from your Co-Ordinator
A few months ago, I asked God how Whittlesea would survive the upcoming food supply issues as it had just one supermarket. He said “fortify her” (her being Whittlesea). I immediately wrote in my diary “Fortify her with food forests”. I then started to run a women’s group with food preservation workshops. Everyone has a different skill set, and I believe we all have something that we have learnt that can be transferred to others. Why did I start with food preservation and not gardening? Because it is often the missing skill for many people. Once the skills of food preservation (i.e., pressure and water bath canning, dehydrating, using wheat berries, making cold and flu remedies) are learnt, then gardening skills can be added to our tool belt, as we then know what to do with our excess garden produce.
