General News
27 September, 2025
Budget tasty food popular
‘EASY Eats For Less’, a recent initiative set up at Mossman Support Services in response to rising cost-of-living pressures, has been a great success.
The program’s mission is to activate local skills, knowledge and leadership in food preparation, preservation and nutrition. This community-led initiative aims to reduce dependency on emergency food relief by creating pathways to casual employment, skill development and peer-to-peer learning.
“The project is a practical, place-based initiative designed to address the real impacts of the global financial crisis at a local level,” said community development officer Erica Mast.
Rather than relying on a single facilitator, Mossman Support Services is engaging and paying local community members, including First Nations people, culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) residents and those with lived experience of hardship to share their food knowledge and lead weekly sessions on cooking, food preservation, planning and budgeting.
Each paid contributor will gain experience in leading workshops and sharing traditional or practical skills, public speaking and presentation, plus budgeting and meal planning.
“You know how everybody knows somebody who can make a feast out of nothing. We’re trying to tap back into that practice of healthy and clever food hacks that can feed an army on a shoestring budget,” Ms Mast said.
“From pickling, stewing and dehydrating, making your own pantry items, to learning how to use inexpensive but tasty and healthy foods, plus discovering how to extend the life of the food you already have. We aren’t reinventing the wheel, we’re just reintroducing it,” she said.
ound of the program is about to come to an end. Described by the organisers as a fantastic foodie adventure, activities have ranged from creating beautiful marmalades and jams, preparing exotic spice mixes, to canning delicious salsas and pasta sauces. “Our group have learned and laughed together every week,” said Ms Mast.
Meeting every Thursday and Friday, the group has explored how to use all parts of the food, even learning to use a dehydrator to make their own onion powder and garlic salt using the leftover parts of the vegetables, instead of relying on store bought items.
“It’s not just food preserving either,” said Ms Mast. “Every time they meet, they eat, and boy, do they push out some delicious meals. From Middle Eastern beans, Shukshuka, to amazing Thai curries and fresh and tasty Italian salads,” she said.
“All of the meals they share have two things in common – they cost almost nothing and they are delicious.”
Most recently, the group got dressed up in their glad rags and ventured to Rusty’s Markets in Cairns to experience the food haven of the Far North. They came away with kilograms of food, which was all put to very good use, they experienced the taste of new fruit, discovered interesting mushrooms and surrounded themselves in the excitement of a well-developed pallet.
Overall, this 12-week program will run three times over 40 weeks at Mossman Support Services, 20 Mill Street, Mossman. The Easy Eats for Less program is starting its second intake now and registrations are open but limited. The next round will run from October 2 to December 18. For details and to register contact, Erica Mast on 4098 2836.
I’m off to get pickling, so for now it’s Gazza signing out.
Send your stories to gazza@cairnslocalnews.com.au
