Connections made over community-inspired kai

Teams from 11 Pōneke suburbs will cook from food grown, caught, foraged, baked or brewed in their local areas, and serve up meals at events that everyone is invited to.

Meals will be hosted from Saturday 20 February to Saturday 6 March. Tickets will be sold on a ‘pay as you are able’ basis, with all revenue going back to the communities.

Throughout the summer months, suburb coordinators worked with their local teams to grow local produce, connect to local producers, create foodie workshops, and make a 'Feed' event for their wider community at harvest time.

“The festival embraces Wellington’s amazing food scene on a local grassroots plate and provides a platform to foster connectedness around local kai," says Seeds to Feeds co-founder Elza Van Boxel (pictured).

“It is about celebrating the faces behind local food – from community gardeners, to foragers, chefs, bakers, and all those who dedicate their time and talents to nurture their communities.”

The initiative launched last year and is supported by Wellington City Council. It coincides with Local Food Week, an annual celebration organised alongside Neighbours Day Aotearoa which encourages everyone around New Zealand to do something to connect with their neighbours.

Last year’s first edition was held in six suburbs (Mt Victoria, Vogelmorn, Newtown, Miramar, Houghton Valley, and Berhampore) and was a great success, despite the country being in lockdown – all meals were prepared for delivery or pick-up.

This year the festival has expanded to also include suburbs Te Aro, Karori, Aro Valley, Hataitai, and Raukawa.

Resilience Advisor Janey Thornton says the Council is pleased to support Seeds to Feeds for another year and to see the festival bring the city’s people and its gardens together.

“During lockdown last year, the value of community connections became clearer than ever, and we’re very excited to see what this year brings for Seeds to Feeds,” she says.

Senior Advisor for Community Development Jamie Shackleton says that the citywide Seeds to Feeds crew has been amazing at reaching out to City Housing garden coordinators across the city. 

“I hope some of our gardeners will be able to participate this time around, and I’m really looking forward to seeing how the shared community meals go.”

Find tickets to celebrate your local suburb on seedstofeeds.nz