Market Farms at the Edge: Pathways to Regenerative Food Futures

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How might we design a more regenerative food system for Sydney?

Join us at Pocket City Farms for an evening of food, storytelling and conversations exploring how plant-based urban market gardens and peri-urban farms can nourish a more regenerative food future for our city.

You are invited to join the Regen Sydney Food Chats: a gathering to imagine what a resilient and regenerative food system could look like for Sydney.

Pocket City Farms demonstrates what’s possible when a community-led market garden takes root in the city. Their story is part of a broader global shift toward resilient, sustainable food systems. On the night, we’ll premiere PCF’s freshly baked impact story, curated through the Pathway to Purpose program and supported by the City of Sydney, in alignment with the City’s long-term food resilience strategy. 

We’ll then widen our lens. Pete from Regen Sydneywill share horizons thinking from recent international food system journeys, including Montreal’s Market Gardener Institute, Groundswell Ag festival, the European Alliance for Regenerative Agriculture and The Apricot Centre, UK, where co-founder, Marina O’Connell, has published a pioneering toolkit on ‘Designing Regenerative Food Systems’.

Together, we’ll gather in a circle to “stir the pot”. Each contributor brings an ingredient to the mix:

• Sugar: something that’s lighting you up ✨
• Chilli: something that’s burning you up 🔥
• Spice: something that could spice things up for all of us 🌶️

Through these shared reflections, we’ll cook up a collective story about what these global lessons might mean for Sydney’s food future, and how we can nurture change here at home.

To ground our conversations, a delicious plant-based dinner will be prepared by the PCF kitchen team, featuring fresh, seasonal, locally sourced ingredients.

Event Schedule

• 5-7 pm (Optional): Volunteer with the Pocket City Farms crew in the market garden (separate registration; limited spots)
• 6:30-7:30 pm: Farm-to-table dinner & informal networking (farm tour for early arrivals at 6:30; dinner served at 7:00)
• 7:30-7:45 pm: Impact story premiere - Pocket City Farms
• 7:45-8:15 pm: Horizons thinking - strategic conversation with Pete Dowson, moderated by Emily Rowland
• 8:15-8:45 pm: “Stirring the Pot” audience circle.

Who should come?
Everyone is welcome, whether you’re curious about how local food systems intersect with climate, equity and resilience, or keen to get your hands in the soil and connect with others shaping a more regenerative food future.

Partners
Co-organised by Pocket City Farms and the Regen Sydney, with the hearts and hands of volunteers.