Food Affordability and Security in Remote Indigenous Communities - with Rohan Gupta, Roberta Henning and Terrence Douglas

"This is the second inquiry into food security by the parliament in eleven years. And like the Closing the Gap targets, little has changed or improved for those Australian Aboriginal people who live in remote communities." - Anne Stanley MP.

In December 2020, the Australian House of Representatives Standing Committee on Indigenous Affairs tabled a report on food pricing and food security in remote Indigenous communities. The inquiry into this issue was made after reports of grocery price gouging in remote ATSI communities during the COVID-19 crisis. It was also made in response to the longstanding concerns of fresh, healthy and affordable produce being unavailable to our most remote Australians – many of whom are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.

The report resulted in 16 recommendations, made to state and federal governments, concerning a need to put downward pressure on food prices in these communities for the sake of equality in health and socioeconomic outcomes. The Federal Government is yet to respond to the report.

This week, we are speaking to the project lead for the Mayi Market, Rohan Gupta, as well as Mossman Gorge O-Hub staff, Robert Henning and Terrence Douglas. The Mayi Market is an initiative of the Cape York Partnership, and was established to address the enduring issue of food security and affordability in Cape York. In some communities, residents have been paying triple the price for groceries in comparison to Cairns, the nearest regional center.

The mission of the Mayi Market is to ensure a healthy diet is attainable for all Cape York families, through the delivery of fresh food boxes on a fortnightly basis. The produce in these boxes is priced in parity with Cairns supermarket prices.

During the episode, we discuss the reality of food availability and affordability in Cape York communities, and address the ensuing health outcomes. We also speak about the logistics of such an operation, how the initiative was co-designed with residents of Cape York and how CYP plans to scale it over the next 12 months.

Thank you for taking the time to listen.

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To find out more about the Mayi Market, read pages 72-75 of the CYP July-December 2020 Family Empowerment Report: bit.ly/FER-2020-July-to-December

Mayi Market website: The Mayi Market – Fresh food boxes for Cape York communities
Mayi Market is also on Facebook and Instagram.

Report on Food Security and Affordability: Report – Parliament of Australia (aph.gov.au)

A snapshot of the report via SBS: Calls for study to improve food security and stop price gouging in remote Indigenous communities (sbs.com.au)

SBS short documentary 'The Distance Diet': Food availability in remote indigenous communities - YouTube

Sources of audio snippets:

The Distance Diet
Food availability in remote indigenous communities
Food availability in remote indigenous communities - YouTube

Linda Burney
Food insecurity in remote Aboriginal communities
Food insecurity in remote Aboriginal communities - YouTube

Anne Stanley MP
Indigenous Committee Report into Food Security 

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