Fair Food is proud to be a founding member of the Steering Committee for Kai West. Our collective vision is for a nourished West Auckland where people have access to healthy, affordable and culturally appropriate food from a local and regenerative food system.
Kai West emerged from the Collaborative Marketplace in 2017 where community organisations came together to find ways to collectively support the people of West Auckland with a focus on prioritising Māori and Pacific people and honouring Te Tiriti o Waitangi. The organisations who came together to talk about kai during this time still make up the core membership of the collective today.
Fair Food chairs the Free Food Forum to connect the diverse eco-system of organisations providing emergency free food support. By coordinating efforts, pooling resources, and sharing skills and knowledge, community organisations are able to strengthen their services and reach families needing support swiftly and safely.
“Our community is incredible and takes excellent care of each other, so it was no surprise that many groups wanted to provide food support during the pandemic. It was invaluable to have coordinated approaches, so social service providers knew where to direct their clients, and food could more easily be distributed in a safe and culturally-appropriate manner. Ultimately, you can’t solve hunger with food, so being part of Kai West allows us to advocate for systems change that reduce inequality. Our goal is to not be needed,” says Michelle, Fair Food General Manager.
