Stories & Pānui
February 2026 Pānui
Waitangi Day is a day of many things, amongst which is the invitation and opportunity to reflect on what it means to be people on this land and how we are called to respect, respond and act.
This year we hope that we continue to explore these things together, to challenge each other, encourage each other and work together to create an Aotearoa New Zealand where power is relinquished and shared, where the promises of Te Tiriti are honoured, and where all have enough resources, including kai, to thrive.
December 2025 Pānui
For many of you at this time there is an intensity to the mahi around us as we strive to ensure all in our communities have what they need to connect with each other, share with the people they love, and feed their whānau. In a world full of demands and divisions this is a moment for us to pause, even for a moment, to truly see each other and all that makes us different from each other. May it also be a moment to acknowledge all that connects us to each other, to celebrate that we do this crazy dance called life together - and we are all richer because of our differences and diversity, our aroha and our care.
For us at Kore Hiakai it has been wonderful exploring, learning, and creating connection with you throughout 2025.What a privilege - Thank you!
October 2025 Pānui
Ka tangi te pīpīwharauroa, ko te karere a Mahuru
When the shining cuckoo sings, it is the messenger of spring
As we watch the green shoots of spring appear, with kererū weighing down the branches in the ngahere, tūī flocking in the kōwhai, spring flowers bringing vibrant colours to our landscapes and days growing longer - there are signs of hope and possibility all around us. Kōanga, or Spring, reminds us that same possibility exists within us, too.
August 2025 Pānui
Waiho i te toipoto, kaua i toiroa
Let us keep close together, not far apart
Kōanga is beginning to show itself in the greening of fruit trees, the first blossoms, and kai like kūmara seedlings finding their place in the soil. These signs of renewal remind us that new beginnings are always possible.
This pānui is full of that same sense of possibility and connection, journeying through our Winter Webinar Series, to the follow-on from our July hui Te Whiringa, to new resources and reflections gathered from across our network.
Together, these updates show the breadth of mahi happening across Aotearoa and remind us that when we share, collaborate, and hold each other close, we move further toward a food secure future for all.
June 2025 Pānui
As we pause as a nation this month to observe Puanga and Matariki; - to remember, acknowledge and grieve what we have lost, to cast our eyes to the horizon in awe and seek wisdom from the stars and the rhythms of all our ancestors, and to be hopeful for the year ahead - may we truly pause and pay attention to each of these things.
As we way-find together into the year ahead, serving our communities, making connections, listening to each other, and fostering prosperity and wellness - may our hope be to seek the abundance that will feed our nation in every way and enable us all to heal and thrive.
There is much in the world, and in our lives, that seems chaotic and in conflict. There are also so many opportunities to connect, to care, and to create. Thank you to all of you who share those with us & for us every day. We also hope you find all of those things present here in this pānui also.
April 2025 Pānui
Me hoki koe i tou ūkaipō
Return to your source of sustenance
As this year unfolds, Kore Hiakai is focused on living deeply into our roots – of connecting and collaborating with those committed to the kaupapa of Food Security and Kai Motuhake. These connections feed the soul of Kore Hiakai, re-set us, ground us. They are our music. We hope you find something in our values and our pānui to sustain you, as we work together towards a food secure Aotearoa New Zealand.
February 2025 Pānui
Ki te kotahi te kākaho, ka whati; ki te kāpuia, e kore e whati
When a reed stands alone it is vulnerable, but a group of reeds together is unbreakable.
Kore Hiakai have an exciting year ahead of us and we hope you might be willing to engage and join with us for parts of it. We want to know about what hopeful mahi is going on in your space too, as it is all our stories put together that helps realise our dream for a food secure Aotearoa.
December 2024 Pānui
December has provided Kore Hiakai with the opportunity to pause and remember some of our highlights from 2024 emerging from the deep whanaungatanga we have experienced across the motu. It brings us joy to share some of those with you in this pānui as a spotlight on our best 'shining a light' moments from this past year ✨ Ngā mihi maioha ki a koutou katoa for all you give and share with us.
October 2024 Pānui
He kai kei tātou ringaringa.
There is food at the end of our hands.
He kai kei tātou ringa is a well-known whakataukī that signifies resilience, empowerment, and hope.
Happy Labour Day Weekend!
August 2024 Pānui
Whāia te mātauranga hei oranga mō koutou.
Seek after wisdom for the sake of your wellbeing.
As we navigate through the deep troughs of winter, amidst the seemingly constant onslaught of government decisions, we recognise the struggle many of you are having as you grapple with ever-increasing need for food assistance. This puts more pressure on your already over-stretched services while coping with significant funding reductions, and on your efforts to collectively and creatively build food secure communities across Aotearoa. Your efforts help foster the hope that together we can reimagine a way through our current reality.
welcome to our November pānui
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.
welcome to our september pānui
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.
welcome to our august pānui
“Manaaki whenua, manaaki tangata, haere whakamua”.
By caring for the land and the people the future will be prosperous.
As we huddled together across Aotearoa during the crisp Matariki nights, gazing towards the stars and remembering those who have shaped us, the Kore Hiakai Zero Hunger strategic leadership and kaimahi team were taking a few tentative steps into that newness. We give thanks and offer our dreams for the year ahead:
Welcome to our June 2023 Pānui
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.
Welcome to our May 2023 Pānui
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.
Welcome to our April 2023 Pānui
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.
Welcome to our March 2023 Pānui
Ki te Kotahi te kākaho, ka whati;
ki te kāpuia, e kore e whati
If a reed stands alone, it can be broken;
if it is in a group, it cannot.
So often during a crisis our communities come together, bonded through adversity that gives rise to care and compassion. We have witnessed collective strength during our most challenging times – whatever it is we’re facing, as we’ve stood in solidarity so that we can respond and heal. Together we cannot be broken.
Welcome to our February 2023 Pānui
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.
Welcome to our December 2022 Pānui
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!
Welcome to our November 2022 Pānui
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.