Towards Regional Food Security and Food System Sustainability: Findings From a Stakeholder Cognitive Mapping Study

Food system sustainability is a broad goal, contributing to resilience, positive health, equity, cultural, environmental and economic outcomes. This study aims to understand the essential components on the journey towards "sustainable food systems" in New Zealand's, Hawke's Bay (HB) region.

Seventeen qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted to identify barriers, facilitators and potential interventions for improving a sustainable food system. Cognitive mapping (CM) was utilised, generating causal links between themes to answer the question: "What would it take to enhance the HB region to sustain a resilient food ecosystem to supply local people with local food?"

Three key themes were revealed: community engagement, the establishment of a local distribution system and fostering trust between growers and consumers. Community engagement was the most critical factor, highlighting the need for partnerships with local Iwi (tribe) and hapū (subtribe), support for local and community-based business models, economic sustainability and whakapapa of kai (genealogy of food) education. Establishing a local distribution system was identified as crucial to enhance the efficiency of food distribution and ensure repurposing of surplus food. Fostering trust between growers and consumers is needed to achieve this goal.

These findings underscore the role of community-centric solutions in cultivating a sustainable food system. Rooted in the specific needs and aspirations of the community, the results offer valuable insights into the development of a sustainable food system in HB.

Through leveraging cognitive mapping, this study provides a novel framework for enhancing community engagement and establishing a local distribution system.