MelbourneChefs was formed in 2013; while it was initially simply a communication channel for chefs and restauranteurs, the group has evolved over the last couple of years to where we're now developing a food-based community projects and sharing our collective experiences around food.
MelbourneChefs is part of a global network of other social enterprises with focus on developing, supporting and implementing food-based community projects. Doing the 'repair' work to address food-system breakdowns and issues; and certainly being pro-active towards any potential future food security disaster such as the largely ignored impending foodcrisis in India and beyond.
The immediate focus for the next 12-18 months is primarily on the situation in India, currently locust plague are decimating crops all the way through to Pakistan; this will create foodcrisis on a massive scale in that region; current estimates of the situation are regarded as being at least equal to the famine and drought devastation Africa has experienced over the last few decades.
MelbourneChefs are collecting 'foodstories' from chefs and farmers.
The stories will be collaborated into both a calendar and book this year. All proceeds from the sales are 100% committed to the building of self-contained 'food growing centres' using unused shipping containers, completely 'portable' and 'scalable' centres that are focussed on intense food growing systems and food production.
These 'grow centres' can be shipped directly anywhere globally that is experiencing food shortages and crisis; are able to be producing food within 2 weeks of being on site. We're furiously building as many of these centres as possible.
This is a massive project, I'm looking for contributors of around 200-400 words 'food stories' from chefs or farmers in YOUR network.
Chat soon, Dean
With @Jackson Seng we are discussing with stakeholders (eg food banks, NGOs, food companies donors) in Singapore who are tackling food insecurity issues. Right now, we've a concept plan how to address in the local region, but would love to hear ideas how to make it global as part of scaling. We want to leverage on Technology and data, mostly because we both are believers of it. Our background is engineering and we want to help address this because the global food waste and the environmental impact is increasing year by year. Just 2018, an estimated 1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted globally each year. Now is mid-2020, and we know that in Singapore COVID19 has magnify this problem. I see a claim that Australia has the most secure food security in the world https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-18/coronavirus-australia-food-security-supermarket-shelves/12244820. For a small nation like Singapore we concede the nation's food supply chain "remains vulnerable to external shocks". Besides understanding consumer behaviour, our idea looks into who controls the primary sources of food and its associated distribution systems: ownership structures, economic power bases and the policies that underpin a nation's food supply chain.
Welcome Dean! I'm so glad to meet you here and learning about what you do! Food is actually my hobby. So I learn a lot about this topic based on my own accord and intuition. I have collected a small but dedicated group of 'Influencers' who wishes to collaborate (with a lot of 'followers' on their social media channels). They are genuinely into collaborating solely on Food topic. I have yet to know how to make an impact together with them.