Tasting Australia presented by RAA Travel has teamed up with Forage Built and Hutt St Centre as the festival’s exclusive community partners.
Tasting Australia aims to raise awareness and vital funds at the 2021 festival which will help with the design and build of a ‘pod’ - a safe, transportable home for people experiencing housing challenges in South Australia.
Premier of South Australia Steven Marshall acknowledges and supports Tasting Australia’s new community partnership.
“It is fantastic to see South Australians forging opportunities to help out those who really need it within our community,” says Mr Marshall.
Forage Built and Hutt St Centre both share the same mission – to provide meaningful change to people experiencing homelessness. They recognise that people living on the streets require more than just housing to break the cycle, an initiative Hutt St Centre refers to as ‘homefulness’.
At Hutt St Centre, this is achieved by providing essential support for people’s immediate needs, like meals and hygiene facilities, as well as a focus on long-term wellbeing through employment programs, support services and pathways to appropriate housing.
Forage Built acknowledges a great need exists for housing and accommodation that provides the right environment to help people overcome crisis and reintegrate into the community. The design of a home is often as important as a support service to rebuild wellbeing, confidence and safety.
Co-Founder and Director of Forage Built, Scott Rogasch teamed up with Co-Founder Justin Westhoff to create a business that hopes to truly make a difference to people’s lives with an innovative, sustainable, and integrated housing solution.
“The pods produced for Forage Built have been carefully designed to ensure we aren’t just getting people off the street, we are giving them hope through a dignified place they can call home,” says Mr Rogasch.
“Through the initiative, we aim to provide a meaningful change to the problem of homelessness through an innovative, sustainable and integrated housing solution aligned to gaining safe, suitable transitional accommodation. We hope this partnership with Tasting Australia can help us achieve just that.”
For the duration of Tasting Australia, festivalgoers will be able to preview a prototype pod in Town Square and learn about Forage Built’s mission, as well as making a donation to Hutt St Centre and Forage Built which will help fund the build of more pods.
Chris Burns, CEO of Hutt St Centre, is thrilled to partner with Tasting Australia and Forage Built on this project which will help provide transitional accommodation to people experiencing homelessness and who are participating in Hutt St Centre’s Aspire program. Participants in the Aspire program receive three years of individualised and intensive case management to help them rebuild their lives, rediscover their identity and reconnect with loved ones.
Tasting Australia Festival Director, Simon Bryant was instrumental in formalising the partnership, having previously worked with Hutt St Centre.
“I’m so proud to see the festival officially linked to these community partners who work so hard on a strategic long-term level to help people achieve the basic human right of safe and dignified housing,” says Mr Bryant.
Simon Bryant and other Tasting Australia chefs, in collaboration with Veneziano Coffee Roasters will provide Hutt St Centre clientele a lunch on Tuesday 11 May utilising unused food and produce from the festival.
