Seasonal Greetings M-POWER CAMPAIGN October – December 2015 Seasonal Greetings is Macquarie’s fourth M-power theme for 2015. Seasonal Greetings is a campaign that focuses on buying and eating sustainable, local and seasonal food. Sustainable food campaigns are occurring across the globe at varying scales. The campaign was developed based on research done by GSE844 Environmental Management Practice students on elements of a sustainable food campaign. This campaign is an exciting one to end the year on as it is fun, practical and leads into the end of year holiday season which is a time for sharing and celebrating.

Think Local and Seasonal Consuming local and seasonal food has numerous benefits across four categories: Improved taste Better health outcomes Less negative environmental impacts Community benefits By raising awareness of sustainable, local and seasonal food we seek to inspire a culture of caring for our local community and the physical environment amongst staff, students and beyond. The benefits of local, seasonal food can be summarised into four categories: taste, health, environment and community. Local farm producers are also more likely to reinvest their profits back into the community, further strengthening the local economy.

Think Local and Seasonal What is local food? ‘Local food’ refers to the distance between food producers and consumers (i.e. food grown or raised within X kilometres of a consumer). For this campaign, the agreed geographical scale of ‘local’ is a 500km radius of the Sydney CBD Locally produced, seasonal foods are generally less expensive, more flavoursome and nutrient rich as they are harvested at their natural peak.   Buying local cuts out the long distances food can travel before reaching your plate, which leads to less greenhouse emissions from less storage and transportation. This radius includes, inter alia, important areas such as: Coffs Harbour for bananas and blueberries, Batlow for apples, the Murray-Darling Basin for wool, wheat, sheep, cattle, dairy produce, rice, wine, and various fruits and vegetable, Bega for cheese, and Bathurst and Orange for apples, cherries, lettuce, potatoes, sweet corn, beetroot, pumpkin, watermelon, and more, allowing for a strong, broad supply of products that can still be included as ‘local’.

Think Local and Seasonal What is seasonal food? ‘Seasonal food’ refers to the times of year where a food is naturally at its peak, in terms of taste and harvest. Seasonal foods are generally associated with locally produced foods.   Not sure what's in season? Check out the Sydney Seasonal Food Guide

Money for Jam A local food and farmer rescue project Insert video here Money for Jam is a recent local food and farmer rescue project that Macquarie University has been involved in. WATCH THE VIDEO This project is an example of supporting local farmers and has been a fantastic opportunity for Macquarie University to be involved in.

Get Involved Seasonal recipes to get you started The MQ Executive Chef, Peter Brewty, has designed a sustainable feast menu for the summer season ahead (recipes available on the M-power site) Get involved by making any one of the seasonal recipes or put them all together for a delicious lunch feast with your team or family! A lot of the recipe ingredients can be sourced right here on campus at the Harvest Hub market or look up a market near you via localharvest.org.au Take photographs of your local and seasonal meal and send through to sustainability@mq.edu.au The recipes include two salads, a chicken dish, a fish dish and two desserts – including a signature scone recipe from the Staff Café Chef Manager, Housien Koussan. There are also hundreds of websites on line which have recipes which are focused on local and seasonal produce.

Thank you! WWW.MQ.EDU.AU/SUSTAINABILITY Thank you for getting involved with this M-power sustainability campaign