Enabling governance for sustainable and resilient regional food system development in Australia

This research is centred around strengthening community resilience in Australia’s regions through enhancing local and regional food supply to achieve greater food security. Australia’s food security has been severely challenged by recent disaster events and Covid-19. Road and borderline closures and the incapacity of supermarket distributors to meet consumer demand during these events have led to repeated food shortages in supermarkets and exposed vulnerabilities from Australia’s over-reliance on long food supply chains.

This research argues that regional food system development and coordination could enhance regional food contingency planning and longer-term community resilience. ‘Regional food systems’ are typically broader in geographical and operational scale than local food systems and aim to enhance the infrastructure and viability of local food distribution to market and consumer access pathways. Facilitating the growth of viable food distribution channels and networks will increase access to locally grown food and support greater food security during times of crises and disaster events.