About Us
Growing Food Justice is a community farm collective working to make food justice the lived reality for everyone.
Across our three community farms in Darebin (Naarm, Melbourne), we practise the foundational pillars of food justice – showing how a life lived close to food and community offers hope in a time of compounding health, social, economic and environmental crisis.
The work we do varies by the day and season.
Some days, you’ll find us planting, tending or harvesting food for local relief agencies or in support of a young farmer’s social enterprise. On other days, you’ll find us hosting events where locals gather together over food. Or you might find us working alongside a cohort of food justice interns – First Nations people and others developing life skills, confidence and connections through food and farming. You might find us teaching food and sustainability to local school children, listening & learning from Country and Elders, working alongside corporate volunteers or sharing our knowledge and resources with other community farmers.
This is what living and practicing food justice, means to us.
Our Values
Community-led
We stand behind the communities we live and work in. We listen to their voices and empathise with their needs and strengths. We design the work together - ensuring everything we do fosters their sense of agency and the uniqueness of race.
Togetherness
We nurture a thriving food culture in the communities we live and work in. We do this by creating diverse and welcoming spaces for everyone to gather, share and connect over food.
Pathfinding
To help weave a city-wide patchwork of community-led, food justice farms. We share knowledge & resources and use our networks to create pathways for new food justice farmers.
The Team
Jesse Redlich
Urban Farmer and Corporate Volunteering Coordinator
Jesse is a queer farmer and parent living and working on Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Country. Jesse brings many years’ experience in urban horticulture and youth work to the work of building community through growing food. Jesse has a Masters of Art Therapy.
Allara Briggs Pattison
Urban Farmer
Allara is an established Yorta Yorta musician and emerging song-woman whose passion for cultural reclamation and revival has led her to the First Nations Food space through participation in the First Nations Food Justice Internship program. Allara is now working on the team as an urban farmer, and will be the facilitator of the upcoming First Nations Food Justice Internships.
Jemma Stefanou
Urban Farm Network Co-ordinator
Jemma is a settler-migrant, queer and disabled person living and working on Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Country. They work as an urban farmer and community connector with a focus on identity, healing and learning through food growing and sharing, respectfully, on stolen land.