2024 Food Entrepreneur James McLennan, Farm My School and Grassroots Sustainability, Victoria

James is a shining light in conservation, preservation and regeneration with his projects, Farm My School and Grassroots Sustainability. For the past 20 years he’s successfully engaged people of all ages with their environment.

His business Grassroots Sustainability focuses on the whole food cycle and bringing it back to the food we eat and the importance of eating local, seasonal, spray-free, nutrient-dense food.

Alongside this, he’s the co-founder of Farm My School with colleague Ben, which transforms unused land within schools into regenerative market gardens that feed, educate and connect communities. And his passion and experience in the sustainability sector has meant he’s partnered with lots of schools. 

But it isn’t just the school who is benefiting from this innovative program. Through connecting farmers with schools, and working with local businesses, it creates thriving neighbourhood hubs where learning, sharing and connecting are at their core.

And it’s working! The pilot school on the Bellarine Peninsula now has a fully operational 1.5-acre market garden, supplying the school and local community with beautiful, seasonal food directly.

Costa Georgiadis, who works with James, says, “James has a fearless passion for the entire food system. And Farm My School is an astonishingly well-conceived project for our times. It’s created countless opportunities for staff and students at Bellarine Secondary College and local residents – and beyond. He works with more than 5,000 Victorian school students a year. His unwavering dedication to transforming the way we think about food – especially when it comes to children’s health – goes deep and it motivates him every day.”

Well done, James, you’re an inspiration to us all.