may we all have enough to thrive - ka mākona
Kore Hiakai Zero Hunger Collective offer you this year’s edition of Ka Mākona, which continues to shine the light on food-related poverty and encourages all of us towards action.
Kore Hiakai Zero Hunger Collective have a vision of an Aotearoa, where everyone, at all times, has access to enough nourishing, affordable, sustainably sourced, culturally appropriate food so that all can thrive and be prosperous. To be human is to share food – whānau are nourished in so many ways by gathering to share kai, whether for everyday sustenance and connection, or for special times of remembering and celebration - ordinary, everyday acts in our land that is plentiful and prosperous.
Amidst this abundance it seems unreal that between 15-20% of our people experience moderate to severe food insecurity in an ongoing way. Around just under 1 million people regularly cannot access enough food to feed their whānau or themselves in a way that enables them to carry out their daily activities. Ka Mākona, our report on Income Adequacy and the Cost of Living in Aotearoa New Zealand, offers understanding towards how this is the experience of some of our population.
Ka Mākona 2023 acknowledges that the weight of food insecurity falls on Māori and Pasifika, women, people parenting alone and those with disabilities within their household. This year our print edition shines the light on households in four geographic locations with significant populations experiencing food insecurity – Māngere, Waitangirua, Aranui and Kaitaia. The full web version also includes the eight previous geographic locations as well as Hokitika, to bring in an additional regional Te Waipounamu perspective. These reports note that food insecurity is a symptom of the discrimination experienced by these population groups, traced back to decisions throughout Aotearoa history that have created systemic disadvantage. This layering of systemic disadvantage has been created by people and so can be changed by people, with the determination and commitment to see all in Aotearoa thrive.
“It is sometimes hard for others to understand just how hard and challenging life is for some in our community,” notes Murray Edridge, Wellington City Missioner. Murray rates Ka Mākona as “an extraordinary resource in this context. I have used the first two editions of Ka Mākona extensively to explain and demonstrate the economic and social disadvantage that some are struggling with. It is critical to have analysis that has integrity; and having a detailed report of the costs of living for multiple scenario households that is produced using verifiable data from credible sources is like gold for decision-makers, policy-developers, and all those involved in community support.”
Ka Mākona offers clarity and understanding, so together we can make decisions that enable all in Aotearoa to have enough. We hope that this edition of Ka Mākona inspires you and continues to inform conversations towards those decisions, so that we can continue to work together to build an Aotearoa where all can have enough, all can thrive and be prosperous.
Ka Mākona 2023 report - Jennie Sim, Kairangahau - Kore Hiakai Zero Hunger Collective, Nov 2023.