Our Impact in 2023 - How did we Sow the Seeds of Change this Year?

This year, as climate change accelerated and our communities felt the effects of floods, fires, droughts, unpredictable weather and volatile markets, the work of regeneration has never been more critical.

At Sustainable Table we are committed to enabling this transition and supporting change makers on the ground to sow and nurture the seeds of change. 2023, has been a jam-packed year for our small but mighty team and we are excited to share our impact with you.

If you're interested in supporting the work we are doing, please consider donating to Sustainable Table today.

Gamilaraay Man and Director of Native Foods at Native Foodways - Corey Grech with Monica Mckenzie at the Carriageworks Farmers Makets. Native Foodworks was one of 24 recipients of funds from Sustainable Table in 2023.

$580,000 was granted to 24 regenerative food and farming projects

We have funded 24 game-changing projects across the country that are healing the land, creating thriving communities and reimagining economies for regeneration. The diverse range of projects addresses the needs of industry and includes infrastructure, research, education, networking, events, capacity building and so much more.

This brings our cumulative total of funds granted to $1.9 million across 89 projects.

Our team running a workshop in Malanda in Far North Queensland with local food and farming change makers.

Groundbreaking multi-million dollar project launched in Far North Queensland

We launched and completed Phase One of the Atherton Tablelands Integrated Collaboration (ATIC), a $3 million project that is jointly funded by Sustainable Table and the State Government’s Queensland Reef Water Quality Program.⁠ The first phase saw us consulting with local food and farming change makers on the ground to understand how we can enable regeneration in Far North Queensland.

Kandanga Farm Store founders Tim & Amber Scott on their Mary Valley property.

Piloted a program to support change makers to become investment-ready

We were hearing again and again that many in the regenerative food and farming industry desperately needed investment but were unsure of what was required to make it happen. Sustainable Table partnered with Sefa, an organisation that partners with businesses and investors to unlock social impact, to create an investment readiness program to solve this problem. Two businesses, Kandanga Farm Store and Active Vista completed the program in 2023 and we are in the process of applying the learnings to the next iteration.

The online launch of the Regenerative Investment in Food and Farming Roadmap.

Release of the Regenerative Investment in Food and Farming Roadmap

This revolutionary piece of research, authored by our very own Tanya Massy, was launched in March. It unpacks how investors and philanthropists can play a pivotal and meaningful role in the transformation of food and farming across Australia. The report offers up a range of pathways for investment and a set of principles that can guide how we fund the regeneration.

The Australian Regenerative Food and Farming Map

Mapping regeneration across the country

In March, we launched the Australian Regenerative Food and Farming Map. It's the first of its kind in Australia, featuring close to 130 change makers. The map gives visibility across the industry and enables connection, collaboration and knowledge sharing. It connects conscious eaters and values-aligned funding partners to regenerative projects and businesses.

Collaborative communication for change and impact

This year we continued to nurture and host the Regenerative Communications Circle (RCC), an online gathering of people working in communications in food and farming. The group came together to grow collaboration and learning. After much discussion about the complexity of the language in this space, Sustainable Table funded Common Cause Australia to facilitate a workshop on framing and messaging to upskill RCC members on the effectiveness of appealing to people's intrinsic values in our communications.

Sustainable Table was in the news

Stories about the different initiatives happening at Sustainable Table were featured in over 35 pieces of media coverage, reaching a total audience of over 2 million Australians. A huge thank you to the team at Compass Studios for making that happen.

Sharing resources for regeneration

We released 3 in-depth guides brimming with original and collated content to support curious humans to learn more about ethical food and fibre, regenerative investment and regeneration more broadly.

The Sustainable Table team watching the sunrise on our Regenerative Leader retreat.

Leading regeneratively

In the final quarter of this year, our team completed the first half of the Regenerative Leader Program. This revolutionary new initiative, by Marike Knight, is supporting us to live and work in ways that align with the regenerative world we are committed to bringing about. We are excited to continue this learning in 2024.

New look and new website

In March we launched new branding and a website to support growers, foodies, funders and eaters to connect, learn and get funded. Shout out to A Friend of Mine for all their brilliant work!

Sustainable Table CEO, Jade Miles, hosting a panel at GRAINZ.

Sustainable Table out and about

Our team had countless conversations with industry and funders about how we transform food and farming in Australia. We also sponsored, attended, spoke at and facilitated events across the country including Regeneration WA, Soils For Life Farming Summit, GRAINZ, Sentient Regenerative Farming Panel Melbourne, Rachel's Farm and more!

1% for the Planet

In 2023, Sustainable Table became an environmental partner of 1% for the Planet.
1% for the Planet is a global organisation that exists to ensure our planet and future generations thrive. Business members commit to donating at least 1% of annual sales to environmental organisations (like Sustainable Table!). If you’re a business interested in giving back to the planet, make sure you check it out.

7 members of the Sustainable Table team before we grew our numbers.

Growing our team and our impact

As our organisation has grown its impact and reach we have expanded our team from 7 to 11 employees. A big welcome to Liv, Sam, Erin and Kristy! Joshua Staines also became a member of our board and Sally Fields joined our advisory team.

If you're interested in supporting the work our team is doing, please consider donating to Sustainable Table today.