FOOD CONNECTIONS TASMANIA

THE FOOD CONNECTIONS TASMANIA NETWORK;

Read the Newsletter below:

download Adobe PDF Food Connections Tasmania Newsletter September 2009

What’s the big idea?

The idea of the network has come about from a workshop held a few months ago with a number of like-minded people involved in the agri-foods network in North West Tasmanian, who came together to talk about the industry and how to better get the word out there about how good the North West Tasmanian produce really was.

Whilst there have been other ideas floating around for sometime wanting to connect producers with consumers in a more direct way, nothing so far has really gotten off the ground that works effectively across multiple levels, embracing all the great stuff already happening and helping to connect people together who could do even better stuff.

2nd Workshop in Ulverstone

After running a second workshop in Ulverstone, the outcome was to produce a picture of what we would like to see the industry looking like in the future. From these raw workshop notes and scribbling, common themes began to emerge and a smaller working party went away to work on grouping these themes together to create some sense of what we were trying to achieve. The idea of a “Network” type of operation began to evolve, where people could be informed on what was happening, get access to training, industry updates and social events within the agri foods industry.

Today we present to you the concept of having a network to help link like-minded people across the agri-food industry to help promote Tasmanian produce to the local markets, interstate markets and the rest of the world.

What the heck is agri-foods anyway?

Agri-foods as a term for this group, covers everyone involved in the production, sales, distribution, regulation and consumption of food and drinks.

Everyone from the farmer, to the cold storage distribution; to the restaurant chef to the consumer in the supermarket.

But there are already so many good groups out there promoting Tassie produce. Why do we need another?

The network it must be stressed aims not to replicate the excellent work already being undertaken by many groups now. It aims to help connect like-minded people involved in the agri-foods industry to work together to help build the product and get more people thinking about, buying and eating Tasmanian produce. The network will become the “go to” point of contact for people in the industry looking to connect with others, be it for training purposes, working on projects together, or simply on a social level. The network as one of its foundation objectives aims to build a complete picture of the industry and the projects currently being undertaken, to help better link people and projects together.

Is the network for me?

If you want to grow your business, network with others, learn new skills, socialise, or just want to know who to contact for something you need, the network is for you!

How do I get involved, and will it hurt?

All you need to do today is fill out your registration form with your contact details and interest level in the network and we’ll slot you into our contact database so we can keep you up to date with events and how the network is developing. You can also nominate yourself to get involved on particular working group if you feel like you would like to help get that project under way. You can get as involved as much or as little as you like.

At this stage we don’t need you to do anything else. We will be developing a web site with information published regularly with what the group is up to, and what projects we are working on.

Thank you for coming along today to find out more about what we are doing. This is your chance to help shape this group, so please feel free to contribute ideas or suggestions that you think will help get things moving.

Will it be called the Network forever?
No. We have a few suggested names and ideas for logos coming along from the UTAS students as we speak, and hope to have something to present shortly that will better represent what this group is trying to achieve.

Website contact: www.cradlecoast.com/producersnetwork.html

Phone Contact: Ian Waller – Cradle Coast Authority 03 6431 6285



WELCOME to the “Food Connections Tasmania Network” – Update