Australian Sustainable Seafood Guide – Comprehensive guide on how to avoid species / types which are over-fished or endangered.
CERES Fair Food – Organic food box delivery service.
Ethical Consumer Group – Provides information on the environmental and social record of companies behind the brand names of common supermarket products.
FairtradeAustralia – Guide on purchasing tea, coffee and chocolate from companies that have paid a fair price.
Friends of the Earth Food Co-op – Stocks bulk goods, fresh fruit and vegetables. Use your own containers.
Melbourne Food Hub – buy local delicious produce at the Alphington Farmers Market every Sunday or purchase from their newly launched online store called Melbourne Farmers Marketplace! You can also purchase their ‘Grow Source Eat’ weekly veggie boxes which contains produce grown at the Alphington urban farm. If you can’t get to Alphington, Moon Rabbit Café in Preston is a collection point for pick up, or you can get your boxes delivered straight to your home, thanks to their partnership with Thornbury/Castlemaine based company, Ice Cream Social.
Local Food Connect – is a not-for-profit, community group which connects local eaters with their local growers, farmers and producers. They are mainly based across North East Melbourne (Nillumbik and Banyule) but encourage, support and promote events, actions and enterprises across all areas in Melbourne, with the aim of putting your food back into your control. We recommend signing up for their informative weekly newsletter.
Local Harvest – resource to help find local and sustainable food sources.
Open Food Network – provides a platform for food producers to sell online, wholesalers can manage buying groups and supply through networks of food hubs and shops. Communities can bring together producers to create a virtual farmers’ market, building a resilient local food economy.
Roving Refills – not food but equally as important, is this local business working to abolish single-use plastics by selling eco-friendly personal care & cleaning refills & supplying businesses in the inner north. Follow the Roving Refills Facebook page to get regular updates on where to go to get those refills!
Sustainable Table – if you’re completely baffled by free range labelling, what sustainable seafood actually means and what produce is in season when, then check out Sustainable Table’s collection of Shopping Guides to help you make ethical and sustainable choices.
The Inconvenience Store – Lentil as Anything’s Food Without Borders project recovers quality food that may be destined for the dump because of dented packaging, slight bruising, or simply because it cannot be sold as ‘fresh’ the next day, for use in their kitchen or grocery store in Thornbury. The Inconvenience Store has no set prices, although bags are limited to 6 kilos, as there is limited donated food and we want there to be enough for everybody. Patrons are encouraged to contribute to keep the store running, either by a financial contribution or by volunteering.
Victorian Farmers Market Association – Supports and promotes farmers markets all over Victoria.
The Complete Northside List of Small Businesses Home Delivering – Thornbury Candle and Co put together a handy list of small and local businesses offering home delivery for Melbourne’s northern suburbs to address social distancing restrictions during Covid-19.