Na te whakarongo, tirito me te whakairo ka puta mai i te korero.

Through listening, looking and thinking we receive wisdom to speak.

Thanks to the WWP whānau for making me so welcome since I joined the team in May. It has been fascinating to get to know more about what the team of staff and manu taki have been working on within the project, and within their own areas of work also. I have embraced my newness in this kai kōrero to listen deeply to the many people doing the mahi already in a spirit of genuine enquiry.

I have spent time with people working in and drawing on food rescue, food banks, EnviroSchools, community meals, community houses, community gardens and more. I am reminded of the resourcefulness of communities who identify and solve the problems they see around them every day.

Alongside this, I have bent my ears to the national conversations going on around food systems, hunger, poverty, nutrition and food sovereignty. It’s a lively conversation, with the launch of a petition for a national food strategy, a new report from Kore Hiakai the Zero Hunger Collective on Realising Food Secure Communities in Aotearoa and the release of this policy brief, Ensure food security for all children from the Child Poverty Action Group authored by the Waikato’s own Dr Rebekah Graham.

Thanks to the generosity of the people in these spaces, and working alongside our manu taki, I am feeling confident to take our work forward. Stay tuned as we develop our work programme, focussing on growing our networks to enable systems change through collective impact so we can all enjoy the abundance the Waikato has to offer.

Out in the Winter sunshine collecting beautiful apples from those inveterate food sharers at Newstead Orchard for delivery to Community Freestores across the city. (Photo credit: Keri at Go Eco Food Rescue]

Thanks to Jo (Manu Taki) and Keri from Go Eco Food Rescue for having me, and for the rich kōrero about systemic change and community abundance.

If you would like to be involved in the Kai Challenge, please contact Amber at: amber@waikatowellbeingproject.com