Our Food Network chairwoman Robyn Zink said the group, which worked to improve community access to local food, was surveying Dunedin City Council (DCC) and Otago Regional Council (ORC) candidates for their thoughts on the role of local and regional councils in supporting food systems.
"While there is a lot of food grown in the area, it is clear that our food systems are failing us," Ms Zink said.
This led to children living in households without access to enough food, chronic health conditions and negative environment, biodiversity and climate impact, she said.
In Otepoti, the amount of vegetable production on the Taieri had reduced from 232ha in 1949 to only 83ha in 2016, at the same time as the population had grown by about 40,000 people. This had led to an increasing reliance on food from elsewhere amid more frequent severe weather events and geopolitical instability.
"We believe that local government has a key role to play in supporting thriving local food systems, and we are keen to hear what our candidates think about it," Ms Zink said.
Surveys are being sent to candidates from this week, and their responses will be posted on the Our Food Network website for voters to read and absorb.
"We are also urging people to ask candidates about local food systems during election forums," she said.
"It is a chance to encourage both candidates and voters to think about it."
There were a number of good local initiatives coming out of the DCC, including useful online resources on a broad range of topics, and it was important to encourage that. The council also provided funding towards Our Food Network, helping to support its work in the community.
"One thing we would very much like to see is more co-ordination between the DCC and ORC around the work they are doing in this space."
Our Food Network is preparing to hold its Annual General Meeting on August 26, and is working towards a local food-themed family-friendly event on October 5 at Toitu Otago Settlers Museum.
"We are still in the planning stages, but we are hoping to provide a range of hands-on activities that will educate and entertain," Ms Zink said.
Those might include food preservation workshops, learning where common foods come from, a biscuit "dunk off", scavenger hunts, other games and a lineup of speakers.
Fruit Harvest
Our Food Network, in conjunction with The Valley Project, ran another successful community fruit harvest programme over the summer, connecting people with excess fruit on their properties with volunteer pickers.
The fruit was then distributed to local food banks, pātaka kai (food pantries), The Bowling Club and Yours cafe, and preserved during three public preserving workshops.
During the season, 1703kg of fruit was picked from 45 properties by 91 volunteers — well down on the previous year, most likely due to the cool, wet summer, Ms Zink said.
