Definitions and Descriptions within the Food Security Space 

Below we explore some of the basic terms and concept in the food security space, along with some descriptions of different ways of doing community food distribution.

This resource defines key terms in addition to those listed below.

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  • A food dependency system is one where the food system is not accessible to all. This creates the need for whanau to seek ongoing financial and practical support in order to access good food. An inability to move beyond those external factors which limit food security requires intervention that keeps whanau in a system of dependency.

    Barriers to whanau being food secure include cost of living, insufficient low incomes and limited access to good food supply. Responses to mitigate food security such as food parcels can perpetuate food dependency if factors of access are not addressed.

  • Ensuring the food people have access to is healthy, nutritious food that is free from contamination or degradation.

  • Fruit and vege co-ops and community supermarkets operate on a social enterprise model where people become members and are able to purchase fresh produce and other foodstuffs, at heavily discounted prices.

  • Community gardens, orchards and food forests are usually found in a shared, semi-public / fully public space where people living in the surrounding communities are able to participate in the growing, care and consumption of the fresh produce harvested.  Māra kai are the common gardens that are connected to Mārae who grow food with emphasis on growing traditional, Indigenous kai, such as kumara, Māori potato varieties and kamokamo.  The exchange of knowledge and learning matauranga Māori is woven throughout the process of growing, harvesting and consumption of the kai.  

  • Ensuring all people have regular access to sufficient, nutritious, sustainably sourced, culturally appropriate food. Access includes economic, physical and social access to kai.

    Sustainably sourced includes food production, processing, distribution, consumption and waste management in order to enhance the environmental, economic, social as well as physical health. (FAO)

    Community led initiatives that increase food production, knowledge of food production and empower people to access their own food build the level of food security within our local communities. 

  • A foodbank is where foodstuffs (usually non-perishable items) and household items (cleaning products, toiletries etc), and in some cases, perishable items (fresh produce, bread etc) are stored and distributed to whānau and individuals in need by way of a food parcel. Food Parcels are usually distributed after an assessment (formally or informally) of need.

  • Sharing kai, developing relationships and creating community is at the heart of preparing and  serving community meals. There are numerous ways of providing meals in the community - from  delivery of frozen meals to people at their home, through to preparing and sitting down together to share a meal with others, in a community facility.

  • Partner organisations who are NZFN Food Hubs food storage and distributions centres that receive surplus and donated bulk food from producers, growers and wholesalers across Aotearoa via the NZ Food Network. NZFN Food Hubs range from social services, Iwi/Māori organisations, Food Rescue and advocacy groups that have strong networks enabling them to distribute food either directly to whānau or distribute to other groups within the communities who making sure whānau are fed.”

  • A state of being without reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious, sustainably sourced, culturally appropriate food. This includes the right to self determine how you access food.

    Provision of food through food parcels, no or low cost meals provided by charities are examples of responses to food insecurity present in our communities. 

  • Empowering people, as individuals and as groups, to make their own choices about the food they eat, where it comes from, how it is produced and their relationship to its production.

  • Pātaka Kai vary in size from a community fridge to a large store house. They are usually a place where non-perishable and fresh foods are received, stored, distributed and shared, and replenished, from within a community.  A key element of  pātaka kai is a relational element to the way they operate within the community, including opportunities to give back.

  • Food rescue is where kai that is fit for human consumption is collected from retail or producers before it is taken for pig food, composting or or ending up in landfill. This food is then distributed and is consumed by people/whānau who need it.