SAGE president Mark Barraclough says recent events have given the group an even greater reason to see the Stepping Stone Farm project come to fruition for the community.

"The bushfires highlighted how quickly the supply and distribution of food coming from outside our region can be disrupted by power outages, highway closures, and other issues," said Mr Barraclough.

"Luckily the Moruya SAGE Farmers Market and e-market, and a few local stores and direct outlets that sell local produce were able to stay open throughout the fires and supply customers without disruption.

"This meant that our market garden farmers could continue pick and sell their produce and keep their livelihoods and staff."

Mr Barraclough said that COVOD-19 presents new issues for our community.

"Once again, our small, local food system has supported people wanting to avoid supermarkets and crowds and buy healthy, affordable, fresh produce locally, either at the farmers market or e-market, from smaller outlets or direct from farmers.

"Buying direct means that your food might only be touched by the farmer or a few people which is quite different from how food is processed in a large corporate food system."

SAGE's Stepping Stone Farm project is an incubator program on a working farm west of Moruya.

It aims to train aspiring growers to become successful commercial market gardeners.

SAGE recently recruited Joyce Wilkie, a farmer and educator with more than 35 years' experience to lead the hands-on intern training program.

"Advertising for the first four intern positions is underway now with the program expected to kick off in September.

The intern project is unique, it will create local jobs, secure the food supply and meet the growing demand for local produce," said Joyce.

"We believe that sustainable farming enterprises help the community through increased resilience, new jobs, economic growth, and developing farmers who preserve ecological values for the health of the whole region.

"Existing farmland is used more productively, and regions are better positioned as a place of good life and great food, which are strong drivers for tourism, "says Joyce.

SAGE Inc is a not-for-profit, community based organisation run by volunteers who manage the award-winning SAGE Farmers Market and e-Market in Moruya, support charities with food, run a popular program of education and events and now manage the Stepping Stone Farm intern project.

SAGE Inc recently launched a new fundraising effort for Stepping Stone Farm using a crowdfunding platform at www.chuffed.org/project/stepping-stone-farm to secure additional funds to grow the project.

Joyce Wilkie trained as a geologist and completed her PhD at Monash University in 1979. After meeting her late husband Michael Plane, she put her academic career on hold to raise a family at Allsun Farm.

Within a very short time she was turning her hand to making money from the small vegetable garden.

First it was seedlings, then a planting calendar for the Southern Tablelands of NSW and finally an ebook on growing annual vegetables.

Allsun Farm produces vegetables, fruit, eggs and pork for families and restaurants in Canberra.

It is also the home of the online garden tool company Gundaroo Tiller.

Joyce has taught Organic Farming at CIT, market gardening short courses through Milkwood Permaculture and trained a number of successful market gardeners through an intern program at Allsun Farm.

Her children and friends have generously stepped up to look after the tool business and the farm enabling her to work full time on the Stepping Stone Farm adventure.