This month we would like to introduce you all to Spare Harvest. Spare Harvest is a new online resource, introduced by Sunshine Coast local Helen Andrews, that allows you to find fresh local produce wherever you are. It works on the principal that anyone with an abundance of food, grown in their gardens can let others know, and either give away, sell or swap their produce.
Produce from the Farm Gate & Private Gardens
At FRC we particularly think this would be ideal for travellers. Travelling around the country is a great opportunity to sample produce from all the different regions. There have been many times where we have made a day of just visiting farm gates and sampling local produce.
Farm Gate roadside stall
Spare Harvest will provide for this and more as it grows. It will not only have listings of local farm gates, but allow private gardeners with an abundance of produce, including veggies, herbs or even eggs, to list on the site so they can be contacted and share their produce, in many cases free of charge.
Fresh eggs from private gardens
It will also serve as a platform for other benefits, including their ‘Time to Help’ section, which ties in with the Free Range Camping Help Out Section. It is a win/win situation with benefits for both travellers and garden owners.
Help someone in the garden in exchange for somewhere to park
Travellers with a green thumb can keep their hand in if they miss their gardens, and find someone with a yard big enough park the van in and look after their garden while they are away, or just help them out in return for some fruit and veggies. And the garden owner can benefit by the extra help, or knowing their garden will be looked after while they are away.
Fresh herbs from private gardens
A Free Service
The best thing is, that like Free Range Camping, Spare Harvest is a free service with many benefits. We are so excited about the Spare Harvest concept that we are in the process of partnering with them to bring our members yet another great service that will greatly enhance travelling around Australia. This will result in a combined data base of locations all around Australia where not only travellers but anyone can access all types of fresh local produce from an easy to use map interface.
How to Join
Spare Harvest is still growing and needs your help to build a valuable resource that you can use while you are on the road and at home. You can find out more about Spare Harvest and join their growing community by simply signing up on their web site or on the Spare Harvest app. The sign up process is easy, either via Facebook or email. Once you signup you can start searching the database for fresh local produce or create a listing if you have something in your garden to share. You can also let us know about anyone that may benefit from creating a listing, so other travellers to find them.
