Dr Nikki Renall

Mapping community food resources and food security in Aotearoa

Food security is inseparable from the cultural, ecological, and socioeconomic conditions that shape everyday food choice. The aim of this research was to explore how access to food resources, mahinga kai (traditional practices of food gathering, cultivation, and resource management), and connection to whenua (land) affect whānau (family group) food security. Utilising a new food security measure based on Household Economic Survey data from Statistics New Zealand’s Integrated Data Infrastructure, we combined it with geospatial data on the location of food resources (e.g., supermarkets, takeaways), māra kai (gardens), spaces for mahinga kai, and whenua Māori. This combined whānau/geospatial dataset was used to explore how connection to and engagement with whenua and traditional food sources affect a whānau level measure of food security across both urban and rural Aotearoa.

Preliminary analysis highlights that food insecurity has increased in Aotearoa since 2019. We also observed differences in experiences of food security for whānau across urban and rural settings, where access to, and the health of the whenua were associated with improved food security outcomes for whānau Māori. This research brings together whānau experiences of food security with geospatial evidence on the environmental drivers of food access to generate actionable insights for change.