A NEWLY-opened market kitchen with an aim to provide new pathways for the unemployed is inviting regional producers to supply fresh unsold produce to be used in its production line.
Melbourne-based network Moving Feast has recently set itself up at the Queen Victoria Markets with an aim to reuse unsold produce to develop a range of jams, sauces, chutneys and preserves.
The Moving Feast Network consists of groups working on projects toward regenerative food systems, and includes the Collingwood Children's Farm, the regenerative agriculture operation Common Ground Project and STREAT which provides young people with horticulture and urban farm training.
The kitchen is based at the market's Purpose Precinct - a dedicated space for social enterprises who have an aim to "create a fairer and more sustainable world".
Moving Feast will also use overripe produce from stallholders at the market, and use them for long-shelf life products, which will then be sold in the coinciding pantry store.
STREAT chief executive Rebecca Scott said regional social enterprises will benefit from the new kitchen and will be invited to supply fresh produce to be used in the production line.
"As a collection of social enterprises committed to social justice, we're excited the kitchen will create a host of new skills and job pathways for people who need a hand, and we can't wait for you to come and taste the goodness we're creating," Ms Scott said.
Mildura-based regenerative farm Food Next Door, who supports refugee and migrant communities, is the first regional social enterprise to take part and will supply organic garlic to the kitchen.
The kitchen also runs food waste workshops and cooking classes.
Employment Minister Vicki Ward said the kitchen helped grow the Victorian social enterprise sector, which employs 60,000 people in the state.
"The Moving Feast kitchen is a clever, creative and tasty operation using unsold market produce to make fresh jams, chutneys and sauces - while providing employment opportunities to those who have faced challenges," Ms Ward said.
The UN Food Waste Index Report, released in March found more than a billion meals were wasted per day worldwide, with households accounting for 60 per cent of that food wastage.
