Rising food prices shows importance of local food supply and puts local growers in a good place

A head of lettuce was ironically posted for sale in a Batemans Bay Facebook buy, swap and sell group for $1000 in early June, and while the ad was removed, the sentiment rings true: Food prices are increasing around the world.

As prices in supermarkets increase, more people are turning to local produce, where the prices do not fluctuate according to global incidents.

Even though larger than average rainfall has made the last two years of growing for local farmers difficult, Dr Wilkie said producers were still increasing in popularity and demand in the community.

Such is the growing popularity for local produce, farmers cannot keep up with demand.

Dr Wilkie's stall with Stepping Stones farm at the weekly SAGE farmers markets will often sell out of all their produce within 20 minutes.

COVID and the Russian invasion of the Ukraine have highlighted the importance of local food supply, according to Dr Wilkie.

READ MORE:

"The war has just underlined for so many countries and governments and individuals how fragile the whole system is," she said, "but this is not new news."

"World markets are fragile."

Dr Wilkie said there wasn't a shortage of food around the world, just distribution issues.

"Food supply has been hammered because Ukraine and Russia produce so much of the world's grain," Dr Wilkie said.

She said the solution to food security was training more people to produce food at a local level.

Having local food producers ensures distribution to the area.

"The way you get security is to grab life and take control," she said.

"Growing organic vegetables is a subversive activity because you have control."

Dr Wilkie said local growers would continue to produce food to be sold at the SAGE farmer's markets on Tuesday afternoons at Riverside Park, because it was an important community need.

"When you do these things on a grassroots level it gives you strength and hope," she said.