Taste of Harmony
This week is Cultural Diversity Week! It is a time that celebrates Victoria's rich multicultural communities.
The 2024 Cultural Diversity Week theme invites us to weave a tapestry of vibrant experiences with "Our Shared Stories - Celebrating Together."
VFMA markets are community networks where you can experience and share in many beautiful intersections that enrich our culturally diverse state.
Cultural Diversity Week marks the start of the Taste of Harmony, Australia’s largest celebration of cultural diversity through food, from 18 March to 19 April 2024.
As workplaces, volunteer groups, friends, neighbours, and social networks come together to share, discover, and learn about each other’s cultural heritage, you can extend the goodwill by buying your celebration ingredients at your local farmer’s market.
Food and the shared experiences over a meal are a delightful bridge that connects us across backgrounds and flavors.
Many stallholders and producers at Accredited Victorian Farmer's Markets have strong ties to culture and diversity woven through their produce.
Over the next few weeks, during Taste of Harmony, we will highlight stories from VGMA Accredited producers and stallholders who celebrate cultural diversity through food.
VFMA President, Charith Senanayake.
For this week’s story, which celebrates the tapestry of humanity that binds us together through our shared stories, we will share the story of our VFMA President, Charith Senanayake.
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As co-founder of Island Home, he champions a sustainable approach to food. Island Home is a VFMA-accredited specialty maker of zero-waste meals meticulously crafted from produce from VFMA-accredited, organic, and sustainable-practice farmers.
Island Home invites you to embark on a culinary journey into the heart of traditional Sri Lankan village cooking. Here, the focus is on creating exotic flavors and promoting healthiness.
The village cuisine of Sri Lanka celebrates a harmonious relationship with nature, emphasizing slow, simple, and healthy cooking. Imagine kitchens brimming with an incredible diversity of spices, vegetables, fruits, and nuts, all sourced from home gardens on the island.
At Island Home, ingredients are thoughtfully selected from VFMA-accredited farmers, prioritizing organic options whenever possible. These ingredients are then paired with seasonal tree crops and ancient grains.
Charith and his partner, Michele, spent over 15 wonderful years living on the edge of the rainforest in the southern city of Galle.
During this time, they supported several organic and forest garden producer groups, fostering diversity and sustainable practices.
As proprietors of Island Home, Charith and Michele cook with this ethos in mind.
Their leaf-wrapped artisanal rice meals feature seasonal and local produce from sustainable farm sources.
The many friends they made on their journeys swapped recipes with and encouraged them to appreciate the importance of diversity on their plates.
This week, the team at Island Home has prepared Oyster Mushrooms grown by newly VFMA-accredited Mushroom People, Organic lentils sourced from the Grampians, and heirloom Kuri Pumpkins grown by the team at VFMA-accredited Plenty Valley Farms. All meals are packaged in 100% home-compostable materials.
To find out more, visit Island Home (island-home.com.au)
#vfmaauthentic, #fromtheheartofthefarm, #farmersmarketsareessential.#farnersnarketsaresustainable
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