Feeding veterans' wellbeing

If Army veteran Mat Stanbury can eat it, he’s doing his best to grow it. 

After completing Dig In Health Co’s Paddock to Plate workshop, he’s filled his yard with edible crops to feed himself and his family.

“I've got fruit trees, herbs, vegetables. If I had enough room, I'd try and grow everything,” he says.

Army veteran Mat Stanbury

“I've got passionfruits growing up the fence, I've got chokos growing up the fence. I've used all of the vertical space that I can.

“I’m trying to convince the wife to get some chickens, but that's a work in progress at the moment!”

According to Mat, store-bought produce just doesn’t compare to homegrown.

“Once you've tasted how much flavour organic homegrown stuff has, you're not real happy with stuff you buy from the supermarket. You become a bit of a food snob,” he laughs.

From service to seedlings

Over his 11-year Army career, Mat deployed to the Solomon Islands and served in both the Ordnance and the Aviation Corps, “working on helicopters, Chinooks, Black Hawks, Tigers, stuff like that”.

“It was a pretty cool job,” he shares. 

“I had plans of staying in for the rest of my working life, but it wasn't to be.

“I accumulated injuries as the years went on and was medically discharged, so I sort of found myself thinking, ‘What now?’.”

Mat discovered a passion for gardening during the COVID-19 pandemic

It was a few years later, during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, that Mat discovered his new passion.

“I started planting things at home, then started doing more research and found that I really enjoyed gardening,” he says.

“Getting out in the garden and getting my hands in the soil is very therapeutic. It takes my mind off everything else that's going on.”

Digging in for health 

Mat went on to volunteer at a plant nursery and later enrolled in the Paddock to Plate workshop by Dig In Health Co. 

Run for veterans, by a veteran, this four-day workshop teaches the basics of permaculture and clinical nutrition. It's funded by RSL Queensland, so there’s no cost to participants. 

Paddock to Plate is currently held in the Sunshine Coast hinterland, though Dig In Health Co hopes to take it on the road from 2026 to reach more veterans.

“It’s an intensive course on how to grow good quality food at home. On the final day, we cover all things nutrition, gut health, and how that links to mental health,” Dig In Health Co owner and director Will Gold says.

Formerly an RAAF aircraft mechanical engineer, now an accredited dietitian and certified permaculture consultant, Will started the workshops to support veterans’ physical and mental wellbeing.

Dig In Health Co owner and director Will Gold

He teaches participants how to design and create sustainable growing systems at home and make healthy, informed dietary choices. 

“The goal is to see people improve their intake of wholefoods – whether it's fruits, vegetables, wholegrains – that are good for their gut health, and subsequently good for their mental health,” he explains.

“We know from research that that’s going to have a beneficial effect on preventing and correcting mental health challenges that veterans often face.”

The other main goal of Paddock to Plate, Will says, is to help veterans “succeed in their own backyard”. 

“Most people kill something the first time they try and grow it, and that's what we're trying to overcome – to see people successfully grow something they can eat and share with their family,” he explains.

“With that success comes a sense of pride, and a sense of being able to provide. 

“After the workshop, most people will report back to me with photos of their veggie gardens or designs that they've started making. It's great to see.”

Lasting lessons and connections

Knowing how veterans ‘tick’ was a key factor in how Will designed and delivers the workshop.

The result is a relaxed, hands-on learning experience that attracts veterans of all ages, interests and backgrounds.

Workshop numbers are kept small – around eight to 12 – to keep the group relaxed and engaged and to bring everyone together.

“I loved it. The instruction was excellent; Will’s very easy to relate to and does a really good job of getting a whole bunch of information crammed into that four days,” Mat says.

“It was refreshing because we were outside learning about things. We could actually see the land while we were talking through where we'd put the garden beds, and there'd be chickens sort of moseying through.

The Paddock to Plate workshop teaches participants sustainable growing practices

“I thought I had quite a bit of gardening knowledge before, but I’d say the course boosted my knowledge from maybe three to eight out of 10.”

Paddock to Plate has “had a massive impact” on Mat’s food choices. 

“The last day was nutrition-based, which I thought was an excellent way to finish because you're learning about all these foods that you're going to grow, and then you're learning about what they can do for the body,” he says.

“It also started making me think a lot more about where my food was coming from: whether it was organic, whether it'd been grown with the use of chemicals, all sorts of things like that.”

However, he says the workshop’s biggest highlight has been the connections he’s made.

“I've made lasting friendships with Will and a couple of other people, which is great,” he shares. 

“We sort of bounce ideas off each other and they'll talk to me about their chooks and their gardens and I'll show them what I'm up to. 

“It's good to have connections with other veterans post-service.”

Reaping the rewards 

Mat enjoyed Paddock to Plate so much that he completed a permaculture design course, building further knowledge and confidence to help his and others’ gardens thrive.

“I've since started my own garden maintenance business, which incorporates some permaculture principles,” he says.

“I have a lot of older veteran clients, and it gives me a lot of joy to be able to keep their gardens up to scratch when they sort of can't anymore.”

Meanwhile, Mat’s own garden has become a rich source of food – and satisfaction. 

“One of the highlights of doing Paddock to Plate is having the knowledge and confidence to be able to grow food at home for my family,” he says.

“We're never going to be fully self-sufficient where we are, but we try and supplement as much of our diet as we can with stuff from the garden. 

“And to save money, we try and grow things that are more expensive to buy and don't take up as much space.”

Mat's garden has become a source of food for his family

Being able to grow nourishing, organic food for his family is “a really cool feeling”. 

“We've got an eight-month-old baby who’s just started on solids. I was able to get him a whole bunch of stuff from our garden and I know how it's been grown, I know it hasn't been sprayed with chemicals and I know what he's consuming,” he says.

“That feeling for me alone was awesome, because he was scoffing it.”

To any veteran with an interest in gardening, Mat says Paddock to Plate is “definitely worthwhile doing”.

“Even if you've got a hell of a lot of knowledge, I guarantee that you’d learn something because it covers so many different topics,” he says.

“Even if you don't have an interest in gardening, I think you can benefit from this course. You can dip your toe in for a few days and see whether you like it.

“It's had an awesome impact on my life.”