2024 / Senior Consultant / Matchbox Studio
Photo from Merri-bek City Council.
Food insecurity is on the rise in Merri-bek
Merri-bek is a local government area in metropolitan Melbourne (Naarm), Australia, with inner north suburbs between 4 and 11 kilometres from the central business district. Like many others, Merri-bek residents are facing increasing food insecurity, with increased demand for food relief in the community, tied to stress around rising rent and housing payments, and general cost of living.
Merri-bek Food Leadership Action Group (FLAG) are passionate and skilled food leaders working for local food security and ensuring accessible, affordable, nutritious and culturally-appropriate food for Merri-bek’s diverse communities, through implementing a Community Food Hub. FLAG formed in 2022 to support a collective impact approach to increasing food security in Merri-bek. The group are supported by Open Food Network, who provide backbone organisational functions.
Place-based approach to food security
Of Merri-bek’s 188,762 residents, 34% are born overseas. Food relief is available, but it comes in different flavours, and is not always culturally appropriate.
Addressing food security requires a place-based approach, “…collaborative, long-term approaches to build thriving communities delivered in a defined geographic location... ideally characterised by partnering and shared design, shared stewardship, and shared accountability for outcomes and impacts.” – Chad Renando.
The Merri-bek FLAG are taking a place-based, structured collaborative approach, which includes making decisions and taking actions based on a deeper understanding of the needs across Merri-bek’s diverse community.
Strategy workshop facilitation
In February 2024 I co-facilitated a three-hour strategy workshop at Merri-bek City Council in Coburg for the Merri-bek FLAG, together with Serenity Hill, Director at Open Food Network. The workshop came at a critical moment for deciding the group’s direction, and ensuring member buy-in on how to move forward.
Workshop discussions focused on governance and the network’s role, priority projects, member contributions, and funding strategies. I developed the workshop approach, led facilitation and the session debrief, and delivered a summary of priorities for follow up in further sessions.
As a Merri-bek resident, it was especially exciting to hear first-hand what’s planned. Keep across FLAG’s work to develop a Community Food Hub.