Growing food; growing community: The role of community food initiatives in Ōtautahi Christchurch

The COVID-19 pandemic and phased lockdowns have disrupted the agri-food system in Aotearoa New Zealand, highlighting acute vulnerability, supply chain fragility, and critical dependencies. To reduce future risk, there is now growing interest in regional food security and opportunities to ‘buy local’. There is evidence, too, that pandemic lockdowns have also led many New Zealanders to reassess priorities, with ‘slow food activities’ such as baking and cooking and establishing, or expanding, home vegetable gardens becoming increasingly popular. While these trends reflect a global movement amongst consumers for locally, ethically and sustainably produced food, the pandemic has also highlighted significant issues of food security for many households and communities, where simply having enough nutritious food to feed a family is the immediate priority. This paper reports on qualitative research into five community food ventures in Ōtautahi Christchurch, particularly community gardens and food forests, in the context of COVID-19. Findings reveal that while food is the pivotal element of these ventures, their role in the community is much broader than this. There has also been a shift in roles and priorities for these ventures over time, often precipitated by crises in the city; this has been witnessed during the current pandemic, but was also evident during the 2010/2011 Canterbury earthquakes, attracting new participants, and reflecting broader changes in values around food, food security, and community