Council
1 February, 2023
Nick Steiner awarded Citizen of the Year
FOUNDER of The Mini Farm Project Nick Steiner was awarded the prestigious Citizen of the Year Award at the annual Australia Day Awards ceremony held at the Redcliffe Museum.
Through Nick’s project, fresh produce is donated weekly to Meals on Wheels, OzHarvest, and other charities providing meals to people in need.
Mayor Peter Flannery said Nick is a hugely deserving winner of the award because he embodies all the great qualities that make Moreton Bay such a special community to be part of.
“Inflation, cost of living and homelessness are all a growing concern and Nick’s charity, The Mini Farm Project, makes a big difference in the lives of those who are going through tough times,” he said.
Terry Young MP said he was so pleased to see Nick Steiner recognised by the MBRC as the Citizen of the Year for his wonderful initiative The Mini Farm Project.
“Nick’s passion to supply healthy, nutritious food to organisations that provide food to those less fortunate cannot be understated.
“Nick’s initiative allows the funds that are saved by having the food donated, to be used elsewhere.
“I encourage people to get behind this fantastic project and help out those doing it tough in our community.”
Nick said receiving the award meant a lot to him as it stood as proof that his work is making a difference.
“My vision to feed people in need all year round by creating a network of charity farms to is a large project in itself. They take quite a bit of planning and some time to fund.
“For me, to receive the Citizen of the Year award, shows me that I am making an impact in the community with an out of the box idea to help feed people in a situation of need.
“It is wonderful to receive recognition for the work we are doing and we hope that this will attract more people to find out more about The Mini Farm Project.”
From their showcase site in Samford, they have helped provide Meals on Wheels Moreton Bay with free produce since December 2020. They are now also providing free produce to Freedom Church Bribie Island, and Redcliffe Breakfast Club on occasion.
“But we are not just a charity farm.
“We provide opportunities for community and education organisations to access our farms to conduct programs.
“Last year the University of the Sunshine Coast started a program called Gardening for Good.
“It involves people living with dementia and their carers gardening on our farm over a three-month period and students assess any progress as part of their learning.”
The Mini Farm Project has also partnered with LuvaBerry and Rotary Caboolture to develop a one-acre farm in Wamuran which we are now fundraising for.
Food produced on this site will be provided at no cost to Moreton Bay charities once in operation.
This means up to an equivalent of 40,000 free meals each year for the community.
“My goal is to do charity differently and soon we will be launching a program that will provide 100% transparency and directly involve donors in certain decision making processes with new farms that we plan to develop.
“The Mini Farm Project is an amazing out of the box charity working hard to solve an urgent problem and work with the community to make that happen.”
People can subscribe to The Mini Farm Project newsletter to find out more about its upcoming program atwww.mfp.org.au/newsletter
