Grassroots community organisation Food Is Free is continuing its focus on education, with work underway to deliver online workshops via a revamped website.
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Food is Free founder Lou Ridsdale said a $500 grant from Commonwealth Bank Wendouree would make the project possible.
"We are really proud to be the recipient of this amazing donation," she said.
"It is really hard as a grassroots collective to keep that wheel spinning. Not for profits do need money to deliver the programs that we do."
Commonwealth Bank Wendouree branch manager Jill Gale said branch staff chose Food Is Free as the grant recipient after researching Ballarat groups.
It is not necessarily about getting a few carrots for free from the laneway, it is about then being able to go home and grow those carrots.
- Jill Gale, Commonwealth Bank
"We thought this was a fantastic project because not only is there the opportunity for people to take food from the laneway, but then it is so extensive with all the education programs," she said.
"It is not necessarily about getting a few carrots for free from the laneway, it is about then being able to go home and grow those carrots."
Ms Ridsdale said education would be a focus for the group over the next five years and online workshops would help share the benefits of growing food for nutrition and food security.
"COVID has certainly brought tough times and we at Food is Free believe everyone deserves access to fresh food, but we want to go a step further and teach people how to empower themselves by growing their own food," she said.
"We believe that is hopefully going to get a lot of people out of some very dire circumstances that have been the byproduct of COVID."
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Food is Free is aiming to begin sharing online workshops in the next six months, with an intention to reach a worldwide audience.
Volunteers run the Food is Free Laneway, where visitors can share surplus food, seeds, seedlings and pots.
The Food is Free Green Space is an ever expanding garden area on the corner of Urquhart Street and Ripon Street dedicated to growing food and food education.
Food is Free was a finalist in the community education category of the Victorian Regional Achievement and Community Awards.