Former Australian netball captain Laura Geitz is trading sport shoes for farm boots, urging Australians to stop and think about where the food on their dinner plates come from.
Rural Aid last month launched its major annual fundraising campaign – Mates Day.
Under this year’s campaign theme ‘Every plate tells a story’, farmers will share the often challenging and unseen journey behind their produce before it makes its way to consumers’ dinner plates
After spending what Laura describes as an “incredible childhood“ on her family’s 607-hectare cattle and grain property at Allora on Queensland’s Darling Downs, the retired sports star and mum of four said she was grateful to come on board as official Ambassador for Rural Aid’s Mates Day 2024 Campaign.
“I’ve had a connection with Rural Aid in the past and love what they stand for and what they do,” Laura said.
“Supporting farmers in crisis, whether it be through droughts, floods, bushfires or anything else that happens in the world of agriculture is wonderful and wholesome work to be involved in.
“There are extremes that farmers are constantly battling with and we speak so much about raising awareness of what our farmers do for us. And, for me, this is a perfect way of raising that awareness.”
Each evening Laura, her husband Mark and their four children sit down for the family meal where they each take turns around the table to share the best thing that happened to them during the day.
Laura describes it as wonderful family time, however said she recently thought about changing the format to question the story behind their food on the dinner plate.
“I was thinking the other day, wouldn’t it be amazing to actually sit down and look at your food on your plate and ask, ’where do you think that came from?’
“Wonder what the farmer had to go through to get that steak or sausage or broccoli on the plate,” she said.
“Let’s start having the conversation around that because none of us do that.
“We take it completely for granted that we can zip down to the shops, grab what we want, get home, dish it out, or we call
Uber Eats, it arrives and we eat these beautiful meals. But let’s strip it back a bit.
“We really need to ask, ‘where does that food come from?’ It comes from these farmers who are absolutely bending over backwards, battling with market prices, battling with the elements to actually dish that up on our plates.
“The majority of us have absolutely no concept of what they’re going through to allow us to sit down and eat a meal.”
Growing up on the farm at Allora, Laura is acutely aware of the challenges farmers face every day and recognises the lifeline Rural Aid offers to farmers and rural communities wasn’t always there.
“Rural Aid is just about helping the farmer, and that’s what I love most about them – they’re there for a farmer when they need them,” she said.
“I feel like there’s an opportunity to put your hand up and say we need some help and they’re more than happy to be there to help, whether that’s through drought, bushfires, flooding or just having someone to talk to.
“Rural Aid’s Mates Day is a great opportunity to support Aussie farmers and to stop and realise exactly what they do for us.
“If you’ve got ties to agriculture, that’s great. But if you don’t, I think it’s just this opportunity to be able to donate and help our mates in the bush and thank them for what they do for us.
“Because they do something for us every single day by putting food on the table.”
To support Rural Aid’s Mates Day Campaign or to make a donation, visit matesday.ruralaid.org.au
* All donations received will contribute to the important work Rural Aid is doing in rural and
regional communities and supporting Australian farmers.
