The Grow Your Own Lunchbox Challenge is an initiative of the Mullumbimby Farmers’s Market. It is part of our ongoing commitment to educating the farmers of the future, and highlighting the importance of fresh, healthy, local food.

The event gives schools the opportunity to come together, share their kitchen garden story with each other and the wider community, and enjoy a little inter-school rivalry.

Participating schools compete in four categories:

1. Box of Vegetables from the School Garden
2. Preserved, Pickled or Dried Products
3. Garden Fundraising Ideas
4. Lunchbox Challenge

which sees groups of students given ten minutes to create a healthy lunchbox on the spot, using food sourced primarily from their garden.

This year the schools competing were Wilson’s ‘s Creek, Shearwater, Mullum Public, The Pocket and Goonengery. As per usual it was a really tough job for the judges, Abbey Bliss, Donna Rayner and Rebecca Barnes.

And the Winners Are!…

Prizes for 2023

The Pocket

Best overall Lunchbox – Well presented lamb on rosemary skewers, flatbread, couscous, kale chips, orange polenta cupcakes and passion fruit.

Goonengerry

Best Main – Vietnamese rice paper roll with omelette and wombok cabbage with potatoes & egg salad

Wilson Creek

Best Snack – Dehydrated orange slice with chocolate bark (which had walnuts in)

Shearwater

Best Drink – Mulberry citrus & mint

Mullum

Best Preserve – Lemon & passion fruit marmalade

Garden prizes

The Pocket

Best Innovative Garden (sensory garden) and native gardens.

Goonengery’s

Best Pest Management (netting to prevent grasshoppers)

Wilsons Creek

Best Gardening Club and innovative Frog Hotel

Mullum

Best Funding as selling produce and fruit on a recycled produce trolley

Best resilience

Shearwater

Soil management – lasagna compost & worm farms

Diversity of produce (Grow their own wheat and make their own bread)

What a fantastic morning it was indeed. The sun was shinning the gardens were inspirational and the food was simply delicious.

We’d like to offer a big thank you to all those teachers, parents and of course the children for all their hard work. Plus a special thank you to our President Sue Mangan (Organic Forrest) and Allie Godfrey (Market Manager) for organising and comparing the event.