Connective Consumptions: Mapping Melbourne’s Food Sharing Ecosystem

Abstract

Food sharing, understood as the collaborative growing, cooking, eating and distributing of food, as well as the sharing of food related skills, spaces and tools, is experiencing a renaissance in cities. From meal sharing apps that are used to exchange home-cooked meals to online maps that reveal surplus harvests, innovative technologies are reshaping food sharing practices. Such initiatives intersect with other food and social movements to form what could be described as “food sharing ecosystems”. This paper applies assemblage theory to four food sharing initiatives in Melbourne, Australia, to ascertain the implications of their ecosystems for urban planning and policy.