Ending Food Insecurity

Executive Summary

This report joins the call for a values-led approach to food security and food systems in this country. Our nation exports enough food to feed 40 million people yet leaves more than a quarter of a million children going without sufficient food in this country. Action is needed now across all the dimensions of food security.

The commitment that no-one should go without food should be an uncontested political and social consensus, regardless of economic or political cycles. This recognises commitments made by successive governments that food security is a human right.

Food is more than just a commodity to be traded. Kai is a great connector; when people gather to share in food it is a part of building relationships with others, the land, environment, culture and history. This is not an idealistic or sentimental understanding of food, but one that reflects a clear analysis of the many dimensions of food security that need to be addressed in the day-to-day work of production, distribution and consumption of food and in the policy, planning and regulation of the food system.

Taking a solutions-based approach to the problem of food insecurity means recognising the urgency of meeting immediate and short-term needs, while wrestling with the longer-term issues.

The immediate crisis is that the rate of food insecurity among households with children almost doubled in the two years to June 2024 (most recent figures), with Pacific children and tamariki Māori being most affected. Food insecurity is a major factor in overall material hardship experienced by children, and the number of children in material hardship is rising again and in 2024 was higher than it was in 2018.

Eating a healthy diet has become more expensive. The price of low-cost healthy food has increased at a rate twice that of incomes in recent years. A lack of competition in the grocery sector has been identified by the Commerce Commission as a contributor to this. But it is likely to take a decade or more for another large supermarket operator to become established in this country.

Creating thriving, mana-centred local food systems with alternative smaller models of grocery and food enterprises offers the chance for immediate improvement in supply and affordability of food. Such enterprises exist already, and well-designed support through local and national food policy and funding could bring rapid change.

A new paradigm for our food system needs to be shaped ensuring that thriving local food systems exist together with the food export sector. A food security strategy and plan of action that puts local food security on an equal footing is also needed. Food policy is currently dominated by the priorities of international food trade policy, such as trade agreements and food export standards.

Food policy needs to be informed by a fully rounded understanding of social investment that takes account of the benefits of longer-term health, educational and other socio-economic benefits in food policy decisions. Diverse local food systems are more resilient in times of emergency and disaster, as well as being more responsive to local cultural and environmental needs.

The solutions proposed here focus on the experience of people on lower incomes, but what works for those with fewer resources works for all. Many of the actions proposed could start immediately. There is no time to waste.

Download: Ending Food Insecurity Report