Affordable and nourishing food for rural and remote communities

National Rural Health Alliance

The National Rural Health Alliance, the peak body for rural health in Australia, will hold a free virtual conversation on food security in rural and remote communities on Monday 29 June at 12 noon, which is now open for registration.

The virtual conversation, “Affordable and nourishing food for rural and remote communities during COVID-19 and beyond”, will feature Professor Danielle Gallegos, Chair, Woolworths Centre for Child Nutrition Research, Ms Ronni Kahn, CEO and Founder of OzHarvest, Dr Josie Douglas, Policy Manager, Central Land Council and Ms Khia de Silva, Dietitian, Arnhem Land Progress Aboriginal Corporation.

National Rural Health Alliance CEO Dr Gabrielle O’Kane, who will facilitate the virtual discussion, said that access to affordable and nutritious food was vital for rural communities.

“Many people in Australia are fortunate to have a reliable and secure food supply,” said Dr O’Kane. “But this often isn’t the case for people living in rural and remote communities.”

“Recent bushfires and now COVID-19 have disrupted traditional supply chains and have made food security issues in some rural and remote communities even worse. We’ve all seen the images of empty supermarket shelves and panic buying in recent months.

“This virtual conversation will allow us to explore a broader range of perspectives on food security in rural and remote Australia. If you’re in a city, a regional centre, or a remote community, the barriers to affordable and nutritious food are different.

“We particularly want to explore issues of food security in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, and we look forward to hearing from Khia de Silva and Josie Douglas about some of these challenges and opportunities.

“We encourage anyone to attend who has an interest in food security, nutrition, or rural health. We want to highlight not only the challenges that exist but explore practical policy solutions that can help us into the future.”

Information about the virtual conversation and registration details are available here.

/Public Release.