Food share hub must go
Public liability, lease issues cited
THE devastated founders of the Portarlington Food is Free Laneway are on the hunt for a new home after being given just three days to vacate their current location.
Organisers said they were given verbal permission to use the popular community space before setting up the laneway four months ago — a “safe place” where people leave fresh homemade food and produce to share together.
This verbal permission was suddenly rescinded last Sunday, with organisers needing to find a new home for the laneway or face the prospect of shutting it down.
Amanda Craig said she was left shocked and heartbroken when the owner of land told her they no longer had permission to use the laneway and were given three days to leave.
“I felt like I lost my home, it’s such an amazing area that has brought the community together and allowed so many people to meet each other,” she said.
“It’s been fantastic to watch it grow so far and see people from lower socio-economic backgrounds have access to fresh food — it’ll be devastating to see it go.”
Ms Craig said she has only moved to the Portarlington area in the last eight months and the laneway had been an integral part of her making friends in the area.
While the initiative’s founders were not originally given a reason for the need to move, the landowner has since told them that public liability issues and the lack of a commercial lease were the reasons behind the decision. They have since been given a couple of weeks to leave the laneway.
The Food is Free Laneway is modelled after a similar sharing laneway created by Lou Risdale in Ballarat in 2014. Like its Ballarat predecessor, the Food is Free Laneway is about sharing food and creating a safe and equal environment for every demographic.
Rebecca Bride is another local woman involved in the laneway and has been desperately searching for a new home for the hub since news broke.
“Really I can set up a table with food in my backyard, but it won’t have the same effect,” she said.
“One of the most important things about the laneway is to have somewhere neutral, where everyone is equal and that people feel comfortable just being.”
Ms Bride said she was considering building a fence in her backyard to allow for the laneway to be on her property — but is unable to commit to the construction cost.
Support has flowed in since news of the trouble broke on the laneway’s Facebook page. The community is rallying at the Fenwick St Hub today at 11am to discuss saving what has become a vital community spot.