Sue White has seen many changes over the years. She moved to Glencoe Farm at Pyramul in 2005 to start organic farming and to create a completely self-sustainable lifestyle.
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"Like many people, I moved to the Mudgee region for a better way of living," Ms White said.
Sue has 100 different varieties of edible plants at Glencoe Farm, as well as over 100 goats along with meat birds and laying hens. She has been the administrator for the local Mudgee community facebook page "Sustain Domain" since 2015 - formerly "Mudgee Co-op" - where locals can share tips and recipes, advertise excess produce, as well as barter, swap, share and donate what they grow and make. The group has grown rapidly with a great increase in interest recently, seeing its members increase to 400.
"'Paying it forwards' and engaging with the community has always been important to me" she said.
"if you learn something, you pass it on. If someone needs help, you don't hesitate," she said.
White has seen how community issues, like homelessness in the region, can go unnoticed in country towns.
"There's a lot of people couchsurfing, camping along the river and sleeping in cars... and because you're not stepping over them on the footpath, it is not as obvious. It's one of the reasons 'Mudgee's Pantry' was started at the local Baptist Church on Bruce Road," she said.
White was one of the founders of 'Mudgee's Pantry,' open Tuesdays and Saturdays, where locals can fill up on pantry staples for $15 per basket, or unlimited fresh produce. White says food insecurity affects all sorts of people, and no-one using the pantry ever has to justify or explain why they are there. The church also offers emergency food hampers and offers a free Christmas lunch and a Christmas hamper drive.
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White also offers workshops at Glencoe Farm to teach community members how to make sourdough, how to grow organic food and how to cook and preserve.
The groups started with five or six participants and have now grown to 15 participants per session. She hopes to additionally expand into cheese-making workshops. The only payment she requests is a bag of grain for her goats.
"Supermarkets might be convenient, but the cost of living is rising quickly, and I want to help people to find ways to make nutritious food for their families on a budget," she said..
"The world isn't perfect and we have to find ways of being resilient."
White can be contacted via the Mudgee Sustain Domain facebook page for further details on workshops, volunteering or how to get started in growing your own sustainable food garden.