shop at CERES

Before making my seachange I lived in the heart of Melbourne, a hop and a skip from CERES Community Environment Park where it was a great pleasure to shop each Saturday morning for organic fruit and vegies and supreme sourdough bread. I miss shopping at CERES!

I'm writing about CERES today in a bid to help clear up the mud regarding the safety of the food grown and sold at CERES.

On March 4 in The Sunday Age, journalist Steve Holland reported that CERES was selling produce grown in lead contaminated soil. You can read the full story here. Information in that story has since been proven to be untrue. The damage though to the trust CERES has built with its community has been shaken and as a result CERES market is quieter and orders are down for their Fair Food organic delivery service.

The results of further testing carried out in January of this year shows no produce sold was contaminated.

An attempt to set the record straight and restore customer confidence was printed on March 11 in The Age written by journalist Mark Russell. This quote is taken from Russell's story:

Peter Brown, chief executive of Moreland City Council, which leases the Brunswick site to CERES, said a council investigation and Environment Protection Authority advice led the council to ''understand that the levels of contamination are similar to what is found in most suburban backyards''.

''The Department of Health has also examined the test results and has advised council that the produce poses no significant or immediate health risks or concerns.''

You can read the full story here.

Today I received an email containing a letter written by CERES Fair Food and Organic Farm Manager Chris Ennis. Chris details the facts and timeline of misinformation presented in the media and explains the direct impact being felt by CERES.  

You can read Chris' letter here.

If you have never been to CERES (and live close enough to do so) make the trip, it is well worth it and your support will be especially valued at this time. And if you are a long time fan or one who hasn't visited for a while now is the time to make the effort and get there. I live two hours drive from CERES but I have such fond memories of going there that I plan to make a trip I'll take with River and Sol this school holidays.

Show your support to CERES and forward this to family and friends who it would interest.