Growing a connected and kai resilient community

Food 4 Thought is a family-oriented community-led group that is uniquely Upper Hutt.

A cross-section group of community champions who are working on the ground pioneering change for whānau and community. The mission is to encourage waste reduction and food resilience by fostering growing conversations and actions on food sources, food waste and the natural environment.

Food 4 Thought grew from food mapping conversations held at small community events and the noticeable waste of fruit and vegetables in local gardens and public areas during autumn in 2020. At the same time, Upper Hutt communities were struggling to access affordable, healthy kai for their whanau.

Food mapping conversations led to a planned and coordinated community kai exchange which has grown in popularity as people learn of the recent initiative. The community kai exchange is now held monthly and is a place for people to come together to connect and swap fresh kai by paying it forward with any excess homegrown crops. It is also a space to share knowledge and learn from each other as well as exchanging seeds, seedlings and plants.

Behind Food 4 Thought, Tracey and Karen are raising awareness and educating the community around a range of different things including, composting, reducing food waste and growing your own kai. They also give up their time to volunteer at local whānau homes to teach and share their ideas on expanding existing gardens for growing, preserving produce (both homegrown and foraged) and enabling people to become more environmentally conscious.

“By sharing skills and knowledge more widely, while fostering both community and ecological resilience we can challenge and change existing behaviours to become more reliant on growing and sharing kai while protecting and nourishing the local environment. We are fortunate to have a passionate network of people with varied skill sets with a passion to help our community thrive” says both Karen and Tracey.

“The change we need is achieved through community led advocacy and working across the whole community spectrum (from our young tamariki to our elders) and revolving around the concept of kaitiakitanga. A system that ensures peace within the environment as well as preventing intrusions that cause a permanent imbalance of the whenua.”

Imagine if our local communities were sustainable and resilient places to nurture and grow kai with whānau at the centre.