He kai kei aku ringa

What does a resilient, just, food system look like when it’s shaped by iwi and communities on the ground?

All around Aotearoa New Zealand whānau / Hapū / Iwi / communities, Councils and regions are strategically enacting kotahitanga to develop kai strategies.  There are many inspiring and impactful strategies and plans that offer valuable insights.  Kore Hiakai have gathered some together some so that they are easy to access and can provide guidance and inspiration for those developing or reviewing a strategic approach to kai in their rohe or area.    

From Seeds to Strategies

  • Every plan starts with a seed—an idea grounded in place, community need, and vision. These “seeds” are diverse, shaped by local context, whakapapa, and aspirations. Planting these seeds is an act of creativity, care and resistance.  Strategy doesn’t have to be a big policy document—it can be a community garden, a food sovereignty kaupapa, a whānau-led food hub, a dream and a conversation between neighbours.

    We acknowledge there are wider systemic responsibilities that aren’t being met within food and equity across our hapori and communities. However, what is evident is the strength and innovation of iwi, hapū and local communities stepping in where they can and leading from a place of care and connection. Together, they share a deep desire to provide a more coordinated approach to increasing food security while understanding challenges present.

    Kai also refers to the taha moana, taha ngahere and taha awa, therefore these food sources have additional planning and regulations, local and central, law and lore around them. It is impossible to have a food strategy without it being linked to a biodiversity strategy.

    ·        Not all organisations that are providing food, and support communities, have food strategies

    ·        Food strategies are context specific so reflect the needs of the people, the whenua and consider access as well as local infrastructure and resources

    ·        These strategies are built with the community in mind and can support local iwi aspirations

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Useful definitions

Below are some of the definitions that might guide your planning before you start:

  • Definition: Designed by a group of people or combination of organisations.

    A broad approach or vision outlining long-term direction and priorities.

    Typical features: High-level goals, guiding principles, values, community vision and engagement.

    Purpose: Guide overall direction and inspire collective action. Brings multiple stakeholder views together under one strategy. Articulates underlining values.

  • Definition: Developed and determined by iwi or hapū or both

    Typical features: Whakapapa in origin, steeped in ancestral knowledge and very long term forward thinking, such as 500-year plans and mokopuna driven.

     Asserts tino rangatiratanga and the rights of iwi / hapū to manage and care for environmental and kai systems on their own terms.

    Relational accountability which prioritises whānau, hapū, and whenua wellbeing over economic profit or sector performance.

    Purpose:

    • Connection to broader Iwi Strategy - Kai may be part of a wider iwi development plan holistically including housing, health, education, te taiao.

    • Restore kai sovereignty and intergenerational food knowledge

    •  Protect and restore ecosystems connected to iwi / hapū identity (e.g. wetlands, fisheries, mahinga kai)

    •  Rebuild whānau wellbeing through kai-based reconnection and revitalisation of traditional ancestral practices 

    • Assert tino rangatiratanga over kai systems and decision-making spaces
      Counter colonial disruption of food systems and land access

    • Reclaiming Kai Motuhake

    • Influence external policy through strong, iwi-led / hapū-led positions on kai, land, and water rights

  • Definition: A written declaration signed or agreed to by several people or organisations, written or oral it is a formal statement that declares an intent.

    Typical features: Rights-based language, political or cultural framing.

    Can be a call to action

    Often the result of a gathering of people who are moving towards a unified objective

    Purpose: Affirm shared values or demands and assert political will.

    Kotahitanga is sought, often with signatories as evidence of support

     Affirm shared values or demands and assert political will, calls for unity and strength in numbers through kotahitanga

  • Definition: Developed by local authority

    Typical features: Aligns with local government goals and national regulations (e.g. climate action, health, waste, urban planning).

    • Sector mapping data-driven: Often includes demographic, economic, and environmental data to inform planning.

    • Time-Bound Objectives: Includes short- and long-term goals with measurable outcomes (e.g. “reduce food waste by 20% in 5 years”).

    • Public consultation and / or engagement

    • Links across departments: environment, health, climate change, infrastructure, transport, and planning.

    • These are often tied to annual budgets or long-term planning documents (e.g. Long-Term Plan, climate change)

    Purpose:

    • Support long term plans and iwi partnerships,

    • Support food system resilience (especially in emergencies like pandemics or climate disruption)

    • Promote sustainability through waste reduction, climate-smart agriculture, and land use planning

    • Align food with urban planning (e.g. zoning for community gardens, access to markets)

    • Inform policy and guide funding or partnership decisions

    • Facilitate partnerships between councils, community groups, and businesses

    • Respond to public concerns around food access, affordability, or nutrition

    • Provide strategic oversight while maintaining a governance lens rather than an implementation role

  • Definition: Regional food plans (or strategies) often sit between high-level national policy and local implementation. Sometimes led by regional councils and can include stakeholders across a region. While less common than council plans, regional food strategies are growing in Aotearoa.

    Purpose:

    • Coordinate efforts across sectors to avoid duplication and silos

    • Map and analyse the regional food system (strengths, gaps, risks)

    • Support regional food resilience (e.g. during crises like COVID-19 or climate events)

    • Align regional priorities with national/global goals (e.g. , climate mitigation, Zero Waste)

    • Attract investment and funding to the food sector or community initiatives through employment and showcasing innovation

    • Create a shared strategy for councils, Iwi, and community groups to follow strategically

    • Link production, supply, distribution, economic development, environmental considerations, community initiatives and decision making across more than one local authority and sector.

  • Definition: Aotearoa NZ currently has no National Kai or food strategy that covers all the aspects of the food system.  
    Typical features: Ideally:

    • Building kai sovereignty while responding to food insecurity

    •  High-Level Policy Framework - Broad strategy documents outlining national direction, steeped in values e.g. Te Tiriti o Waitangi, Te Mana o te Wai,

    •  Ideally a whole of society shared approach. Could be funded and resourced by Central Government, Ministries or national taskforces.

    •  May include and acknowledge production of food, primary industries, export and global trade of food, but needs to prioritise Indigenous knowledge systems, food security, food sovereignty and Kai Motuhake.

    •  Currently we have no unified national food strategy — food issues are split across agriculture, health, education, and social development and is fragmented across Sectors.

    •  Other countries have national food strategies. Some Inclusion of Climate and Nutrition Goals, reference to SDGs, climate adaptation, sustainable agriculture, and improved nutrition — but often not integrated.

    •  More emphasis on Indigenous rights, Community Voices.

    • Community-led or Indigenous-led food sovereignty planning.

    •  Not always binding or funded. These strategies can be aspirational or advisory, with limited mechanisms for implementation

    •  Who leads or instigates a national food / kai strategy in Aotearoa New Zealand will determine direction and inclusion.

    • Eat New Zealand, Veterinarians for Animal Welfare, and Freedom Farms led a petition to Parliament in 2023. You can read more about this here (link). 

    Purpose:

    • Set national direction on food production, security, sustainability, and innovation

    • Support small scale producers and the right to food

    • May meet international obligations (e.g. SDGs, climate commitments, trade standards)

    • Support economic growth through food exports and agri-tech

    • Influence regional and local planning via overarching policy signals

    • Guide funding priorities and research into food, health, and environment

    •  Coordinate responses to food system risks (e.g. climate change, pandemics, supply chain disruptions)

  • Definition: A detailed and often can be a time-bound document to implement a strategy with whāinga or objectives that are specific and measurable


    Typical features: Timelines, specific actions, responsible parties, resources, and examples. May have short, medium and/ or long term goals.

    Purpose: Make the vision operational with clear actions and accountability.

  • Definition: A plan that covers a geographical region rather than a small area, suburb, city or town.


    Typical features:

    • Cross-sector collaboration - developed by a mix of stakeholders: councils, iwi, sometimes health providers, growers, NGOs, businesses, educators.

    • Supply chain focus - Often map food production, processing, distribution, and waste across the region.

    • Economic development framing - Food is viewed as an economic driver (jobs, exports, innovation), sometimes overshadowing equity or sovereignty.

    • Reflective of regional identity - Reflects the unique foodscape, land use, water and cultural needs of the region.

    • Community consultation – ideally involves extensive public engagement or stakeholder interviews, stakeholder advisory boards but not always co-designed and not always successful

    • Data-driven- sometimes might include GIS mapping, regional food flows, or statistical analysis (e.g. food shed analysis).

    • Sits within a wider regional strategy - Often part of broader resilience, environmental, health, or economic frameworks.

    • Action-oriented - Identifies goals, roles, timeframes — but implementation often relies on external buy-in and funding.

  • Definition: Developed by Māori that are not iwi or hapū mandated

  • Definition: Assessment mapping and analysing a region’s food production and flow. (similar to a watershed)
    Typical features: Data on local food sources, production vs consumption, supply and distribution chains.
    Purpose: Understand local food system strengths and gaps.

  • Definition: This might be for a street, a local park, a pātaka kai, a school, a church, a community garden, a berm, a waterway etc
    Typical features: A group of people come together to create a level of hyper local food security.
    Purpose: Local food security.

    These Dunedin resources  covers all you need to know around local government rules and regulations when it comes to establishing gardens, growing on council owned land, Pataka kai and more. Other local authorities have similar resources. This one is comprehensive and ensures you are informed early before looking at community gardens. It clearly outlines the responsibilities required both financially and legally.

  • Definition: A pledge is designed to be visible, values-driven, action-oriented, and unifying. It’s a tool for building momentum and signalling shared responsibility, without requiring the detail of a full strategy or plan.

    Typical features: Usually includes a mechanism to “sign” online  and often displays names/logos of supporters to show Kotahitanga and encourage others to follow

    • Clear Statement of Intent: A concise declaration of what the pledge is about (e.g ending hunger, supporting local kai, reducing waste).

    • Inclusivity of Voice: written in a way that individuals, whānau, organisations, or councils can all sign on—sometimes with flexible levels of action and appeals to wide range of stakeholders without being too prescriptive or detailed

    • Action-Oriented Promises: Specific commitments that signatories agree to take (e.g., “We pledge to source at least 50% of our kai locally”).

    • Call to Ongoing Action: Which might include  a closing invitation: “By signing, we commit to leading with Te Tiriti informed decisions

Curious questions to reflect on

Impact looks different in every community—some of its measurable, some of its relational. These plans are building both evidence and momentum.

These questions aren’t here to discourage—they’re here to help deepen the work, invite courage, and remind us that real change starts with reflection.

  • Is there real proof these strategies are reducing hunger? Impact looks different in every community - some of it's measurable, some of it's relational
  • What systems are we trying to change with strategies - and how do we know if they're changing?

Useful resources

Below are some resources that might guide your planning before you start.

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  • The Erosion, Technology and concentration (ETC) Group is a small, international, research and action collective committed to social and environmental justice, human rights and the defence of just and ecological agri-food systems and the web of life. Their publications are extremely useful and a recent publication – the long food movement is a robust report that describes issues and breaks down solutions to work towards.  It reiterates this is a long slow process. International observations are just that – the ability to observe from others who might be experiencing similar work to our own.

  • How to measure impact, through collecting community stories, understanding whanau ora and whanau exercising their rangatiratanga to determine what oranga looks.

  • How to talk about our food system is a good place to start to locate yourself in Aotearoa New Zealand, this provides informative collective information and is a robust analysis. There are many ways of viewing systems thinking and perhaps the one way is to think of systems feeling rather than thinking.  Often, we think too much and don’t feel. Intergenerational intimacies is a beautiful journey of solidifying the place of key Māori concepts and written to remind us behind these strategies are people. 

    -          How do we release old mental models of systems change that are not serving us , are we able to apply new thinking  because we are not able to take a step back and assess the holistic nature

    -          How might you identify when you are reaching for internal patterns, society conditioned thinking  and quick fix-imposed thinking ?????

    -          How to encourage addressing solutions

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    Success and challenges
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