Since February 2026 we have been holding events in the Byron shire and beyond to build community around the need to build a local food system.  We recognised the need to do this as in this region we have witnessed multiple times the fragility of our globalised food system.  We find this particularly problematic as we are surrounded by farms.

So we called our community together and asked the question:

What are the main obstacles growers in this region face that prevent them from selling (more easily) direct to consumers?

We started each Food Forever event by setting the context of our current food system, while also proposing solutions adopted in communities elsewhere.  Helena Norberg-Hodge, Founder and Director of Local Futures opened the first three events.  One of the following short films were screened:

• Economics of Happiness (Abridged)
• Helena Norberg-Hodge’s interview with local economies expert, Michael Shuman
• Trade Gone Mad

At our event in Murwillumbah (May 2026), we hosted a discussion panel with three farmers:

• Rod Bruin, Summit Organics
• Toby O’Grady, Green Bird Organics
• Corinna Greenhill, Faeleaf Farm

After a brief Q and A with our speakers, we then moved to the community discussion section of the event, where we break into the following groups:

• Access to land
• Access to alternative sales channels
• Community support for building a local food system