Food Insecurity in Regional Rural Australia

Mungai, Ndungi; Priestly, Jacqueline; Pawar, Manohar

doi:10.1080/0312407x.2019.1662820

Cited by 8 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…Neighbourhoods play a key role in health [ 80 ] and it must be noted that efforts made by Aboriginal families to eat healthy may be compromised by an unhealthy food environment. Data from this study supports evidence from other research that shows that food environments in disadvantaged areas are less healthy than those in affluent areas [ 10 , 69 , 77 ]. A recent study conducted in Sydney, Australia, identified so-called 'food deserts' and 'food swamps' in the city’s economically disadvantaged areas where healthy food options were scant or non-existent while unhealthy food was easy to purchase when compared to the more affluent suburbs [ 23 ].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

“…A study conducted in Western Sydney that investigated the affordability of a food basket (incorporating principles of health and sustainability) showed that the most disadvantaged groups in the region, both at the neighbourhood and household level, experienced the greatest inequality in affordability of the healthy and sustainable diet [ 17 ]. Another recent study in regional NSW highlighted that price alone is not the major factor but that income combined with other factors impacts on the affordability of food [ 77 ]. The study compared the average cost of the Victorian Healthy Food Basket [ 78 ] with the same food basket in regional NSW, and found that 34% of a four person family’s government income support payments went towards purchasing the basket indicating considerable food stress in these households [ 77 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Another recent study in regional NSW highlighted that price alone is not the major factor but that income combined with other factors impacts on the affordability of food [ 77 ]. The study compared the average cost of the Victorian Healthy Food Basket [ 78 ] with the same food basket in regional NSW, and found that 34% of a four person family’s government income support payments went towards purchasing the basket indicating considerable food stress in these households [ 77 ]. Evidence from other studies show that households on low incomes spend a greater proportion on food than those on higher incomes [ 19 , 75 ] and those living in the most socio-economically disadvantaged areas are the most impacted [ 16 , 79 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Murradambirra Dhangaang (make food secure): Aboriginal community and stakeholder perspectives on food insecurity in urban and regional Australia

et al. 2022

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Background It is widely acknowledged that the invasion by colonial powers of the Australian continent had profound and detrimental impacts on Aboriginal Communities, including food security. Policies of successive governments since European arrival have since further exacerbated the situation, with food insecurity now affecting 20–25% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Food insecurity contributes to long-term impacts on health, in particular diet-sensitive chronic diseases. This study aimed to describe Aboriginal community and stakeholder perspectives on food insecurity to get a better understanding of the key contributing factors and recommendations for potential strategies to address this issue in Aboriginal communities in urban and regional Australia. Methods Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 44 participants who were purposively selected. This included Aboriginal people in two communities and both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal stakeholders from local food relief agencies, food suppliers, schools, and government in an urban and regional location in NSW. A conceptual framework was developed from literature on food security, and sensitizing concepts of availability, affordability, accessibility and acceptability or the lack thereof of healthy food were used to elicit responses from the participants. Interview transcripts were analysed thematically. Results All participants felt strongly that food insecurity was a major problem experienced in their local Aboriginal communities. Five core areas impacting on food security were identified: trapped in financial disadvantage; gaps in the local food system; limitations of non-Aboriginal food relief services; on-going impacts of colonization; and maintaining family, cultural and community commitments and responsibilities. Participants suggested a number of actions that could help ease food insecurity and emphasized that Aboriginal values and culture must be strongly embedded in potential programs. Conclusions This study found Aboriginal families in urban and regional Australia are experiencing food insecurity on a regular basis, which is impacted by a range of socio-economic, environmental, systemic and cultural factors, as reported by the participants. Study findings highlight the need to address system level changes in the food environment and acknowledge Aboriginal history, culture and food preferences when considering the development of programs to alleviate food insecurity among Aboriginal people.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Murradambirra Dhangaang (make food secure): Aboriginal community and stakeholder perspectives on food insecurity in urban and regional Australia

et al. 2022

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“…Same is the case of natural hazards, where communities are more prone to these hazards due to inadequate communication and infrastructure setups [40]. These regional rural areas suffer the food security issues as well [41].…”

Section: Australian Regional Citiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Smart City Ranking System: A Supporting Tool to Manage Migration Trends for Australian Cities

2021

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A key driver of Australia’s economic development is through promoting migration. A strong bottleneck to achieve the targets is a disproportional concentration of population in the metropolitan cities. To avoid congestion in these cities, emphasis is being given at the government level to promote the regional cities. With different city ranking systems, this study tries to identify linkage between the city ranking and people’s preference to live there. The proposed ranking system uses six components, namely, economy, mobility, environment, people, living, and governance. A comparison is done between the ranking systems by first assigning the same weightage to the six components and then assigning different weightages based on people’s preferences. This study considered 112 Australian cities, which were ranked by considering their performance based on the non-weighted and weighted parameters. Analytical Hierarchy Process is then used to assign the priorities/preferences of the components, factors, and indicators. The study also incorporates clustering technique to address the issue of missing data/information that is a typical problem with small cities where missing data is a common issue. The results of the comparison demonstrate that assigning weightage to ranking parameters makes the city ranking closer to the preference of people to live in a city. It is also recommended that the city ranking system and urban governance should have closer connection to each other. The lowest performing city ranking parameter should be given higher preferences in urban management and development plans.

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“…Food insecurity in a regional town in rural Australia is the topic of the article by Mungai, Priestley, and Pawar (2020). Drawing on a cross-sectional qualitative study, the authors found food insecurity to be a product of complex social and environmental factors including chronic poverty, ill health, and sudden changes in personal circumstances such as employment and housing.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Responding to a Crisis: Social Work Profession, Policy, and Practice

Beddoe

2020

Australian Social Work

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This editorial was intended to focus on the trans-Tasman relationships in social work but the terrible bush fires of January in Australia quickly became a more compelling matter to address. As the days unrolled, we became in turns shocked, sad, angry, and hopeful. Rain might come. The wind might turn. For those of us watching from Aotearoa, our thoughts were with friends and loved ones. For a few days our own skies turned yellow, orange, grey, and there was a pervasive smell of ash. For all the 2000 kilometres of Tasman Sea between us, we are close. The winds drifted across the waves with their cargo of ash and New Zealanders gazed up and sniffed the air, sharing photos of the eerie yellow skies. We checked in with family and friends. For those of us, on both sides of the Tasman, who were social workers our thoughts turned to what needed to be done. Several statements were made in the first few days of 2020, followed by some blog posts. The focus of the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) statement on 2 January (AASW, 2020) was informational, carrying links and summaries about services and income maintenance matters. But, as always for social work, there is the visible dual focus on wider issues of structure as well as the compelling call of individual, family, and community distress and its amelioration: In the face of this national emergency, we need to look more broadly around the larger factors that are contributing to its existence. Climate change is real and the increase in extreme weather events will continue to have devastating consequences. We need real political leadership on the issue and immediate climate action to assure the safety of individuals, groups, and communities. The AASW has and will continue to advocate for urgent policy action.

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Food Insecurity in Regional Rural Australia

Cited by 8 publications

References 20 publications

Murradambirra Dhangaang (make food secure): Aboriginal community and stakeholder perspectives on food insecurity in urban and regional Australia

Murradambirra Dhangaang (make food secure): Aboriginal community and stakeholder perspectives on food insecurity in urban and regional Australia

Smart City Ranking System: A Supporting Tool to Manage Migration Trends for Australian Cities

Responding to a Crisis: Social Work Profession, Policy, and Practice

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