Thread by @sustainaus

We are calling for a $500m national #EdibleGardening fund as a necessary and urgent investment in public and community #health to be co-financed by Federal, State and Territory governments.

We’re in a national emergency, and we must respond accordingly. #urbanagriculture

Dietary-related ill-health and mental illness cost Australia around $200 bn every year.

With COVID-19 and the climate emergency, these costs will rise and more will experience #hunger and #foodinsecurity. In a country as wealthy as #Australia, there is no excuse for this.

The levels of food poverty and dietary-related ill-health amongst #FirstNations communities are a matter of national shame.

Edible gardening has immense power to do good, as our national #PandemicGardening survey showed.

#COVID19Aus

Now is the time to scale up edible gardening and urban food production. Remove the roadblocks, unlock vacant land, connect water supplies, provide soil, compost & seedlings. We want kitchen gardens in every school, edible gardens on verges, and a community garden in every suburb.

All of this needs to networked, coordinated and supported at every level, with policy commitments and targets.

A $500 mn national Edible Gardening Fund will empower communities & #councils to drive a mass expansion of urban food production across #Australia.

#Budget2020 #auspol

Everyone will benefit. For a tiny fraction of our current annual health expenditure, the return on investment will be enormous.

Join us this Friday to learn more! Ticket sales end on Thursday night, so register now! events.humanitix.com/actionagenda_p…