Every month, dozens of keen gardeners gather at a Frankston café to share their bounty with others.

The Frankston Food Swap grew out of the annual Frankston Community Food Festival, a month-long series of workshops dedicated to helping residents grow, produce and cook their own food.  Last year’s festival included a food swap, and the interest it generated helped sow the seed for the Frankston Food Swap.

The food swap is held on the second Saturday of every month (except January) at Coffee on Kareela, a not-for-profit café run by St Luke’s Anglican Church and staffed by volunteers.  It draws 15-20 people on average, and group member Sally Taylor says anyone is welcome to bring along any excess produce they have and swap it for something they need; any leftover produce is taken to Food Is Free.

“At the first swap we had someone bring along a collection of macadamia nuts from their tree; basically it’s whatever’s in season – lemons, rhubarb, herbs.  We have a small planning team that gets together to organise demonstrations at each swap, such as making mustard from mustard seeds, preserving, or making sourdough bread.

“There’s a garden at the back of the café so if someone doesn’t have anything to swap, but they might have ideas or experience they can pass on, they can take something from the garden.  We do encourage people to bring something along though.

“Some of the people who come along are regular swappers, and we do get some newcomers too.”

The next food swap is on Saturday, November 12, from 1-2pm at 53 Kareela Rd.