Food Resilience

Teaching Garden

Garden volunteers welcome

Food Resilience

Food resilience is about taking control of our local food production and supply. It's a proactive approach to ensure that our communities have access to fresh, healthy, and sustainable food sources. By producing as much food as possible locally, we become part of the solution, reducing our reliance on a global food supply chain and centralised distribution systems. It's a step towards self-sufficiency, improved food security, and a more sustainable future.

Research informing our actions

In 2021, Kaipātiki Project and The University of Auckland joined forces to better understand and address food resilience within our local community. Our collaborative research project aimed to identify those in need and create connections to vital support systems. Our objectives included mapping food insecurity, pinpointing opportunities for intervention, and establishing effective connections to bridge the gap. Three interconnected themes emerged: income instability, social isolation, and disconnection from the source of sustenance – the soil. Read full Food Security Research.

Teaching Garden & Community Compost Hubs

Fresh harvest Our vision is that everyone's food needs are met from local sources.

Building a sustainable edible garden is a circular process starting with improving soil fertility, planting strong seeds, maintaining plant health organically to produce nutrient-dense food, harvesting and sharing this abundance with the community, saving seeds for the next growing season, and working to the environmental conditions. All our organic material including food scraps are composted to go back into the soil, drawing down carbon and reversing climate change.

Learn through action, experience and connection
Become a garden volunteer, get your hands dirty and make new friends
Join our workshops on backyard and community gardens

We work with community groups teaching how to grow your own food and provide advice on community garden setup, sustainable practice, volunteer involvement, crop management, and compost hub operation.

Food Co-op & Pop-ups: fresh and affordable produce

Food coop

In 2021, our Sustainable Food Strategy research delved into the diverse needs, aspirations, and visions for food sovereignty within the Kaipātiki area's community. The resulting report underscored the pivotal role of fresh produce, community connections, and the importance of offering choices in developing resilient food strategies. You can explore the comprehensive findings in the report available, here.

Inspired by our research, we forged a partnership with FoodTogether, underpinned by our belief in the potential of a food co-op to grant our local community access to fresh, affordable produce. Guided by the dedication of six remarkable volunteers (Amy, Anne, Jennifer, Jenny, Lagi, and Rita) and supported by six community organizations (Bayview Community House, Birkenhead RSA, Highbury House, Northcote YMCA, Onepoto Awhina, and Onewa Christian Community), we successfully provided an average of 30 families with fresh, affordable produce each week. Surplus produce was donated to local Pātaka Kai.

The idea of expanding our food co-op sparked vibrant conversations that sprouted into food pop-ups. As a community organization, our role is to listen to the voices of the community, and it made sense for us to channel our efforts into growing the momentum with the pop-ups. We are thrilled about the evolution of the food co-op boxes into these pop-ups.

A heartfelt thank you to our volunteers, who packed boxes with both ruthless efficiency and infectious laughter. Gratitude also goes to our community partners and, most importantly, to our loyal Food Box and Food Pop-up customers. Your enthusiasm for the food pop-ups has been contagious, and it feels like the natural progression to heed community voices and shift our focus to further cultivate these pop-ups.

With this evolution in mind, we announce that as of November 23rd, we will no longer be running the Food Co-op Boxes. However, fear not, as you can still enjoy the fantastic value of fresh produce by ordering from your local food pop-up, all for just $15 a bag!

To place your order and continue supporting our community-driven initiative, please refer to the ordering information provided here.

Thank you for being an integral part of this journey towards a more sustainable and connected community. We look forward to your continued support as we embrace this exciting new chapter in our sustainable food initiative.

Benefits of growing own food

Nutrient dense, nourishing and organic, plus eating what's in season
Zero waste! No plastic packaging, no food miles… just walking out to pick a lettuce
Convenient and cheaper. We encourage to use, borrow, share what's available
Building and restoring soil helps draw down carbon and reverse climate change

Whether growing on window sill, balcony in a pot, backyard, community garden, food forest, or planning to set up a urban food farm as a business, gardening and growing food is good for our mental health as we focus on something positive and alive. Now is good time to start!

Grow Your Food workshop: thank you to Jack Li and Office of Ethnic Communities

We thank our funders and supporters!

NZ Lottery Grants Board

foodtogether