A Food Relief Charter for South Australia-Towards a Shared Vision for Pathways Out of Food Insecurity

Tahna L Pettman; Carmel Williams; Sue Booth; Deborah Wildgoose; Christina M Pollard; John Coveney; Julie-Anne McWhinnie; Marian McAllister; Carolyn Dent; Rory Spreckley; Jonathan D Buckley; Svetlana Bogomolova; Ian Goodwin-Smith

doi:10.3390/ijerph19127080

A Food Relief Charter for South Australia-Towards a Shared Vision for Pathways Out of Food Insecurity

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Jun 9;19(12):7080. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19127080.

Affiliations

¹ Centre for Social Impact Flinders, College of Business Government and Law, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia.
² Wellbeing SA, Government of South Australia, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia.
³ College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia.
⁴ School of Population Health, Curtin University, Perth, WA 6102, Australia.
⁵ College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia.
⁶ Department of Human Services, Government of South Australia, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia.
⁷ Allied Health and Human Performance, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia.

Abstract

Chronic food insecurity persists in high-income countries, leading to an entrenched need for food relief. In Australia, food relief services primarily focus on providing food to meet immediate need. To date, there has been few examples of a vision in the sector towards client outcomes and pathways out of food insecurity. In 2016, the South Australian Government commissioned research and community sector engagement to identify potential policy actions to address food insecurity. This article describes the process of developing a co-designed South Australian Food Relief Charter, through policy-research-practice collaboration, and reflects on the role of the Charter as both a policy tool and a declaration of a shared vision. Methods used to develop the Charter, and resulting guiding principles, are discussed. This article reflects on the intentions of the Charter and suggests how its guiding principles may be used to guide collective actions for system improvement. Whilst a Charter alone may be insufficient to create an integrated food relief system that goes beyond the provision of food, it is a useful first step in enabling a culture where the sector can have a unified voice to advocate for the prevention of food insecurity.

Keywords: co-production; collective impact; food assistance; food insecurity; food relief; intersectoral collaboration; policy.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Australia
Food Assistance*
Food Insecurity
Food Supply*
Humans
South Australia

Grants and funding

The project from which this article arises received funding from the South Australian Government through the Public Health Partner Authorities, under The South Australian Public Health Act 2011. The development of this article was enabled by funding obtained from the Australian Government, Australian Research Council, Linkage Grant LP200200681.