Vote for Kai – LEARN MORE

Learn more about the ideas and solutions behind Vote for Kai:

1. Prioritise all who live in Aotearoa New Zealand in Food Decisions - centering te tiriti, people & communities

Public Health Advisory Committee. 2024. Rebalancing our food system.

• A comprehensive overview of our food system and how it needs to be transformed to nurture people in the different ways that matter — as people who eat, grow, produce, or work with food. The rebalanced system needs to foster wellbeing, protect and restore the environment, and elevate mātauranga Māori and shared learning.

Kore Hiakai Zero Hunger Collective. 2025. Kai Motuhake.

• Kai Motuhake explores how Te Ao Māori can help build a food secure Aotearoa. Acknowledging the impacts of colonisation, it promotes Te Tiriti-informed approaches to kai and highlights Indigenous-led solutions that strengthen resilience, wellbeing and equitable food systems for all.

The Salvation Army. 2025. Ending Food Insecurity: What needs to be done now.

• A report calling for a values-led approach to food security and food systems in Aotearoa that treat access to nutritious food as a fundamental right and a social investment. Argues that a new paradigm for our food system needs to be shaped ensuring that thriving local food systems exist together with the food export sector.

Emily King. 2023. Re-Food.

• A book and podcast series that examines our food system from farm to table, exploring challenges such as climate change, soil and water health, food waste, packaging, unhealthy diets, and food access. It offers practical ideas and solutions for building a healthier, fairer, and more sustainable food future.

2. Connect kai/Food, Farming & te taiao/the Environment

Storybox and Whakaata Māori +. 2024. Hua Parakore – Rebuilding our Broken food Systems.

• Dr Jessica Hutchings travels the motu meeting Hua Parakore growers in this documentary series, exploring the six kaupapa that underpin Hua Parakore— a very watchable way to understand tikanga-based relationships between people, kai, animals and te taiao.

Our Land and Water National Science Challenge. 2021. Regenerative Agriculture in Aotearoa.

• Led by scientist Dr. Gwen Grelet, this project breaks down complex agricultural science into friendly short reports and videos tracking soil health, animal welfare, and climate adaptation.

3. Grow Strong Regional kai/Food Economies

Eat New Zealand. National Food System.

• Proposes a Mana-Centred Local Food System model that emphasises the infrastructure and systems that support local producers, creating healthier, more connected and self-reliant communities across Aotearoa.

Jessica Hutchings and Jo Smith. 2025. Pātaka Kai. Growing kai sovereignty.

• This book highlights how indigenous food practices offer solutions to ecological, cultural and social crises. Featuring indigenous food heroes, it advocates for kai sovereignty, sustainability, and community well-being through holistic approaches that reconnect people, land and food.

Kore Hiakai Zero Hunger Collective. 2023. Realising Food Secure Communities in Aotearoa.

• A report and webinar that highlights what communities across Aotearoa are doing to strengthen their food security, including identifying a shared vision for food systems that are local, affordable, connected, healthy, regenerative, and resilient.

4. Invest in Health, Not Just Healthcare - he kai he rongoā, he rongoā he kai

Public Health Communication Centre. 2026. Food Policies to support healthy and environmentally sustainable diets.

• Many New Zealanders struggle to eat a healthy diet in line with our food and nutrition guidelines. This brief explores the actions the Government could take that would have the biggest impact on improving people’s dietary intake and ultimately increase our health and wellbeing.

Public Health Communication Centre. 2024. Evidence for Free School Lunches.

• A series of three short briefings pulling together the evidence on free school lunches, including the bigger picture benefits of the programme, the impact of hunger on learning, and whether they are a good investment.

5. Celebrate & protect our kai/Food Cultures

Monique Fiso. 2020. Hiakai.

• This beautiful book celebrates kai Māori, exploring native ingredients, foraging and culinary knowledge through stories, an illustrated ingredient guide and recipes, bringing ancestral food practices to contemporary audiences.

Eat New Zealand. Eat New Zealand Podcast.

• A podcast exploring Aotearoa’s food system, through conversations with growers, harvesters, chefs, industry leaders and food enthusiasts. It offers diverse perspectives on the people, ideas and issues shaping New Zealand’s food culture.

6. Ensure a Food Secure Aotearoa New Zealand - kai security for all

Kore Hiakai Zero Hunger Collective. Ka Mākona - Income Adequacy in Aotearoa New Zealand

• Food insecurity is not about whether there is enough food in Aotearoa but about whānau having enough resources to access healthy affordable kai. The series of Ka Mākona reports explores the financial pressures facing whānau, the systemic causes behind food insecurity and identifies opportunities for change so all can thrive.

Allen and Clarke. 2026. Evaluation of the Food Secure Communities programme

• This evaluation found that the Government’s Food Secure Communities programme strengthened community food distribution, emergency preparedness, and access to nutritious food support. Whānau receiving support experienced reduced stress and connections to wraparound services. However, ongoing funding is needed.