Putting healthy food on the table is becoming harder for many households as the cost of living continues to rise.
Across Southside, local organisations are already doing important work to help people access food when they need it. Now, Port Phillip Community Group wants to build on that work and explore another option: a community food market where everyone is welcome to shop for affordable, fresh and healthy food.
Through Southside Community Foundation’s 2026 Grants for Collaboration, Port Phillip Community Group will receive $10,000 for Sustainable Food: Port Phillip Grocer, working with The Community Grocer and local partners to explore what a sustainable community food market could look like in Southside.
The idea grew from last year's Grants for Conversations Food Security Forum, supported by Southside Community Foundation, that brought together 20 people from 12 community agencies, alongside Council representatives, to talk about food security in Southside. Those conversations highlighted the growing challenge of accessing affordable and healthy food, as well as an opportunity for local organisations to work together on longer-term solutions.
The proposed market would build on The Community Grocer’s existing social enterprise model. Rather than relying on donated food, it would use sustainable purchasing and supply arrangements to offer affordable, healthy and culturally appropriate fresh food. Everyone would be welcome to shop there and choose the food that is right for them.
Port Phillip Community Group CEO Sue Karzis said the grant would help take an idea shaped by local experience and collaboration one step further.
“We’re thrilled to receive this grant from Southside Community Foundation. It will help us work with The Community Grocer and our local partners to explore a new, sustainable model for food security in Southside, one that gives everyone access to affordable, healthy food with dignity and choice. This is an exciting opportunity to build on the work already happening in our community and create lasting change.”
The first step will be listening to the community and understanding what will work best locally. The Community Grocer will undertake a feasibility study looking at community needs, local food prices, potential locations and times for a market. PPCG will bring together a working group of local organisations, food security partners, Council and people with lived experience of food insecurity to help shape the model.
The longer-term ambition is to establish Southside’s first not-for-profit community food market, creating another way for local people to access good food with dignity and choice, while complementing the emergency food relief services already supporting our community.
It’s a great example of what can grow when a community comes together around a shared challenge: listening to what people need, building on what is already working and exploring a new solution together.
