Food security in spotlight

Across rural and remote Australia, access to affordable and nutritious food is a key determinant of health. But this food security is now facing greater challenges than ever, with bushfires, floods and now COVID-19 disrupting traditional supply chains.

The National Rural Health Alliance is hosting a virtual conversation on food security on Monday 29 June 2020 at 12 noon. We invite anyone to join who has an interest in food security, nutrition or rural health.

We are delighted to have put together an expert panel for the event, featuring:

• Professor Danielle Gallegos, Chair, Woolworths Centre for Child Nutrition
• Ms Ronni Kahn AO, CEO and Founder, OzHarvest
• Dr Josie Douglas, Executive Manager, Policy and Governance, Central Land Council (Alice Springs)
• Ms Khia de Silva, Health and Nutrition Manager, Arnhem Land Progress Aboriginal Corporation

People in rural, regional and remote areas are at greater risk of food insecurity. Quality fresh produce is often hard to come by or expensive. Other factors include poverty, unemployment, low educational levels, social isolation, poor food literacy and lack of time.

COVID-19 has seen panic buying take hold across the country which disrupted food supplies for many areas. Images of empty supermarket shelves were common and both the shortages of products as well as restrictions on purchases hit particularly hard in very remote communities, where people often have to travel great distances to the nearest supermarket.

But COVID-19 will have impacts on food security into the future. Higher unemployment brought on by the pandemic will jeopardise people’s ability to afford quality nutritious food. This is particularly the case in rural, regional and remote areas that may have been affected by bushfires or rely heavily on tourism – or both.

Join us on Monday 29 June to hear about some possible solutions to tackle this issue – not just during COVID-19 but well into the future. Click here for information about how to register.  #ruralfoodsecurity