There’s not really a starting point to this story, but there are certain events and people that play a significant role in Grow Free beginning. How and why does a group come about that wants to make our food free and healthy? Why not? All the chess pieces were in place for it to happen; conditions were ripe. I just happened to be standing around, twiddling my thumbs, when the position of starting this group was being handed out. And I mean that with all sincerity. As this is not about a person who came up with an idea themselves and created something out of nothing, but an idea that has come to life through us humans.
There was definitely a farm in a little town called Meadows, in the South of Australia, where things accelerated, and an interest was piqued. Maybe not so much as at the farm itself, but in a supermarket one day, truth be told.
I was wandering aimlessly up and down fluorescent aisles, used to salads that were picked minutes beforehand and warm tomatoes straight from the vine, and there was a realisation that maybe only 1% of this whole store was real, genuine, food. And even that 1% only scraped through with a pass.
So when one asks why did Grow Free come about, one could also ask why did we let this happen? How did we hand over the controls to one of the most important parts of being alive?
And it also dawned on me that not many of us really have any idea of where we’re going, what we’re doing, are we satisfied with the way things are, do we want to make change? Do we ask ourselves questions like: are we leaving a better world for future generations? I could see this pervasive social malaise, a kind of cultural disempowerment, where we hand over our power to all these external sources. I feel that if one is aligned or in touch with their deepest feelings, they might find that there’s this deep-seated notion that things can be so much different.
In action, this idea manifested first as free seeds and seedlings being given away here on the Southern Fleurieu from my home. This in turn, brought about people that instead of wanting seedlings, wanted to help out & be involved. The group soon grew larger & larger & continues to expand. With each new member, they have brought their own ideas into the mix. Grow Free was soon helping people setup their gardens, organising sharing carts where people can share their surplus, spreading the word and love at festivals, attending sharing markets, cooking at a meals program, and promoting good health and abundance in the community. Only in recent months has this idea really begun to take hold, and the growth has been exponential in many ways.
Who wouldn’t want their food to be nutritious and free? Who wouldn’t want to live amongst an epidemic of good health and wellbeing? This is something that we can create if we so desire to. No contribution is too big or too small. Every little piece makes the puzzle, and there are so many avenues we can take this. So if this is something you can feel in yourself too, please come along and join us for the ride.
Much Love,
Andrew