AUT students tackle food insecurity
Fifteen students of AUT School of Art and Design’s ‘Design for Sustainability’ minor have come up with feasible ways of dealing with food insecurity in Tāmaki Makaurau.
In partnership with Healthy Families South Auckland and The Southern Initiative, the student projects involve real-world collaborations with people and community organisations.
Using design thinking methods and a systems-change approach, and in collaboration with local people, the projects seek to improve food security and sovereignty in communities, in a way that can be applied across Aotearoa.
Projects include Lemons to Lemonade, a strategy for community-wide sharing of excess homegrown produce and culturally diverse food practices; The Veggie Truck, a strategy to support the community-led distribution of healthy, affordable food; and Mātauranga Kai, a re-imagining of food-based secondary school education so that modules are holistic, student-led, and responsive to the food and nutrition needs identified by the local community.
AUT School of Art and Design senior lecturer Lisa McEwan, who led the course, says a key focus is to get students looking outside of their own battles, and to understand an issue like food insecurity that they might not have experienced themselves.
“The Southern Initiative has been great in introducing our students to current change-makers and influencers in the South Auckland food space, helping them to get a grasp of what they are dealing with,” McEwan says.
In its seventh iteration, the partnership between AUT, Healthy Families South Auckland and The Southern Initiative has run since 2016, enabling students to work on real-life projects in South Auckland.
The resulting work is shared with councils and community stakeholders throughout Aotearoa.