Ki te kotahi te kakaho ka whati, Ki te kapuia e kore e whati.

When a reed stands on its own it can easily break, but a group of reeds together bend in the prevailing wind.

The last month or so has been a journey, as we have changed season into spring and as we move into life with our new government in whatever form it takes. In the changing of seasons it is important to remind ourselves to be gentle; to let go of that which needs to be shed and to welcome in the new growth.

E koekoe te tuī, e ketekete te kākā, e kūkū te kererū

When all the birds are singing the forest is thriving.

We are now only weeks away from our general election.

It is a privilege to be in a country where we are free to vote without coercion. It is our right and our responsibility as members of our wider community to participate in voting, even when we don’t know who to vote for. This is how our different voices are heard and contribute.

Ko te pae tawhiti whāia kia tata,

ko te pae tata whakamaua kia tina.

Seek out distant horizons and cherish those you attain.

It has been an incredible privilege to journey with you all during these last four years of the Kore Hiakai Zero Hunger Collective, as we’ve explored our shared purpose, partnerships, and deep relationships to create meaningful systemic change around food security.

He kai kei āku ringaringa.

There is food at the end of my hands.

Amongst the wonderful diversity found all across Aotearoa there’s a commonality in our shared visions around kai – we all want food at the end of everyone’s hands.

Heria te taura tāngata.

Weave the people.

Kotahitanga is about togetherness, solidarity, and collective action. It’s the bringing together of all threads in order to weave the best outcomes – something we’ve all given witness to this year, as we stood in solidarity with all we weathered.

He hono tangata e kore e motu; kāpā he taura waka e motu

Connections between people cannot be severed whereas those of a canoe-rope can

Welcome to the start of our journey for 2023! It is said invisible threads are often the strongest ties. This certainly bears truths for many of us at the start of this new year as we reconnect to champion food security together.

Kia tu nonu i te aroha.

To always stand in love.

As 2022 draws to a close we cast our thoughts and hearts back across the year and the journey we have made together. Our Kore Hiakai kaimahi whānau are struck by the number of inspiring individuals, thoughtful leaders, organisations, collaborations, innovations, mārae, iwi and hapū, funders, decision makers and producers deeply committed to a food secure Aotearoa. It is such a privilege to be a part of all your mahi!

Poipoia te kākano kia puāwai.

Nurture the seed and it will bloom

In Te Ao Māori, hauora – a holistic view of wellbeing, promotes a wide concept of total health. Our whakatauki this month speaks of the care and continued nurturing we all need to fully realise our potential and to flourish. Kai, and all the aspects of kai, is part of that cultivation. We invite you to explore the hauora realm with us – particularly through a nutritional lens, and the impacts good kai can have on our physical, mental, emotional, social and spiritual well-being.

Ma te Kotahitanga, e whai kaha ai tātau

In unity we have strength

Part of our mahi at Kore Hiakai is naming the current reality of what it means to be food insecure, giving witness to the incredible innovation and resilience of whānau doing it hard by amplifying their insights to those in power, as well as championing those working towards food secure solutions.

Mā te whiritahi, ka whakatutuki ai ngā pūmanawa ā tāngata

Together weaving the realisation of potential

They say coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success. The strength of any collective is its individual members, and the strength of each member is the collective. Together WE weave the realisation of our country’s potential because we are more powerful when we empower each other.

Ahakoa he iti, he pounamu.

Although it is small, it is precious.

On most week days the Kore Hiakai kaimahi gather for morning karakia at 9.30am. This is a special time for our mahi whānau – assembling for the ascent of each new day, because it’s a time to pause, share, and be present as our whole selves with each other (and sometimes with manuhiri too). A small, purposeful, act with big intent.

Matariki hunga nui.

Matariki of many people.

Every year during this month, an open-star cluster rises in the north-eastern sky above Aotearoa. Made of many luminary siblings, all born about the same time, different cultures have different names for this celestial event around the world. In Aotearoa, when these stars become visible, we call this Matariki and along with Puanga – this is the beginning of the Māori New Year.

He kanohi kitea, he ringa hei awhi.

A face that is seen, a hand to be held

As we move into the second quarter of this year, we begin to reconnect across the motu, building a strong sense of whanaungatanga. Whanaungatanga speaks to our values of inclusiveness, of networks and connections, and of folding in the collective/tātou as well as the individual/takitahi.