Jen Ross, who runs a market garden in Waipu, said armyworm has done “months of damage” to their vegetable crops – one of many factors putting the squeeze on food security. Photo / Michael Cunningham
Soaring supermarket prices, wild weather, wages not keeping up with inflation, a relentless cost of living crisis that’s putting a strain on foodbanks, and a plant pest that’s decimating the crops of Northland growers.
There is currently a veritable feast of factors putting the squeeze on Northlanders’ access to affordable, nutritious food.
So how do we obtain food security in Tai Tokerau?
A new report by Kore Hiakai Zero Hunger Collective aims to address the issue, and find practical solutions to these problems.
The Realising Food Secure Communities in Aotearoa report, released this month, highlights five major barriers to food security.
Topping the list is supermarket domination over local food economies.
“The number of Northland locals growing produce has been decimated over the last three decades as the supermarkets have consolidated their domination of the supply chain,” the report says.
Kore Hiakai Zero Hunger Collective researcher Sonya Cameron said food exports are also part of the problem.
“This is a problem that seems to have arisen the last 30-40 years where we’ve lost a lot of our food production and producers and seen much more food funnelled through supermarkets and the exporting of good food.
“Food is going out of regions like Northland and Tairāwhiti and you’re ending up with a lot of people who are food insecure when you have that capability to be self-sufficient.”
Cameron said there needs to be a national food strategy to support domestic and local food production.
There was “a lot of frustration by growers and producers who say we want to be able to provide good healthy food to our communities but not being able to”.
“There’s not the size of the supply and distribution chains to enable that.
“At the moment there’s so much focus on export markets and supermarkets have got too much control.”
Low incomes, high living costs, and being time-poor were also “massive issues”, Cameron said.
“If businesses were to pay a living wage, that would support their employees to be food secure.
“We have to focus on positive solutions rather than people feeling like they have to go to a foodbank.
“People don’t have enough time or money, so they end up having to buy fast food or go to a foodbank rather than grow and cook good food and sit down and have a meal with whānau.”
The report, sourced from community agencies, local authorities and health organisations, highlights how mana whenua, communities, councils, and central government can work together.
It found communities want to see a diversity of local food businesses that provide healthy, affordable and sustainable food, including through social food hubs, farmers’ markets and local food stores.
Dave Kennedy, the vice chairman of Farmers’ Markets New Zealand, whose members include Bay of Islands farmers markets in Kerikeri and Paihia, and the Whangārei Growers Market, said New Zealand was “moving away from being a food resilient country”.
In the 1980s there were 24,500 growers in New Zealand, he said, “now we’re down to less than 900″.
“Even in the last 10 years there’s been a huge drop.
“It’s because the main outlets of fruit and vegetables in New Zealand have been supermarkets.
“Even the Commerce Commission has put the squeeze on supermarkets. The only ones that can afford to survive are large industrial growers who can produce large quantities.
“For smaller growers, it’s simply not economic.”
Kennedy said the Covid-19 pandemic had a big impact on growers; during the first lockdown the Government decided farmers’ markets were not an essential service, only allowing people to use supermarkets.
Extreme weather caused by climate change also had negative impacts, Kennedy said.
“You can have a major grower of brassicas that supply supermarkets that experiences a severe weather event and there will be a shortage of supply and the price goes up.”
But most farmers’ markets were thriving and had seen an increase in customers who realise they’ll get better quality, less expensive produce, Kennedy said.
“If you’re buying directly from a grower, the produce is freshly picked, it probably tastes better and it’s cheaper because there’s no middle men.
“We need to shift to how we can feed ourselves and our local communities.
“We need to shift to a more resilient local distribution system as well. Every time we have a major weather event, if the roads are closed, we have a few days before we run out of food.
“The other thing is we need to think more seasonally, where we celebrate what we get at different times of the year.
“But people expect to buy anything from the supermarket, even if it’s out of season.”
The report highlights the Whangārei Growers Market as “a remarkable success story”, with its “loyal and growing customer base”.
Whangārei Growers Market co-founder Murray Burns said there had been a “steady decline” in growers in New Zealand over the last 30 years – and this was continuing.
Over the years, the number of stallholders at the Saturday Whangārei market had changed.
Though they used to have fewer growers who had more volume, “now we have a lot of smaller growers like lifestylers”.
“There used to be 27 fulltime tomato growers in Whangārei – now there’s none.
“In terms of growers, we’re a dying breed.”
Burns said people have got vegetable prices “out of perspective”.
They expect them to stay continually low, while their lifestyle choices and expectations had exploded, he said.
“People spend money on distractions like Netflix and mobile phones and Sky TV and coffees ... they feel it’s their right to go out for breakfast.
“My mother bought food first, and what was left over went to a special treat. Now it’s the special treats first and what’s left over is for food.”
Burns said the weather, along with outbreaks of a plant pest called armyworm which has been destroying crops Northland-wide, has compounded the problem.
“For us it’s been a nightmare. Usually, we bulk up in autumn, so we get produce for winter, but armyworm cleans out your autumn crops, so you’ve got nothing for winter.
“It leaves a huge gap in your supply.
“We’ve had nothing but rain for 18 months. It’s been bloody tough.
“But it’ll change again, we’re supposed to go into El Niño, so it’ll be dry again.”
Tropical armyworm is now established in Northland and fall armyworm, first detected in February 2022, also can’t be eradicated.
The plant pests thrive on moist, humid temperatures, and consume pasture, maize and vegetable crops.
Jen Ross, who runs Left Fields market garden in Waipū with her husband Gus, said “months of damage” have been done to their vegetable crops by tropical armyworms this year and last.
“They decimate the crops overnight down to the stems.
“It’s a financial loss for us. But it’s hard to put a number on it, because it’s also been a battle with lost crops with the weather.”
Ross said the couple, who supply vegetables to Northland restaurants and markets, had to close their farm shop until armyworm subsides, hopefully when the weather gets cooler.
Until then, “there’s not much we can do”.
“We would like to see some natural solution to this problem. We can’t see it going away because of our warming climate and warm moist summers now.
“Some support from the regional council where they can look at bringing in natural predators would be good.”
The ongoing cost-of-living crisis is putting pressure on foodbanks.
With families struggling to put food on their tables, they don’t have extra to donate at a time when there is more demand than ever for food parcels.
Kaitāia’s Fresh Start Family Services and foodbank recently said they had to reduce their operation from seven days to three due to increasing demand.
Salvation Army Whangārei mission team leader Nathan Holt said there has “definitely” been an increase in Northlanders accessing food parcels.
“We noticed it when Cyclone Gabrielle hit and it hasn’t fully slowed from there.
“We’ve tried to figure out how much is the cyclone and how much is the cost of living. Because there’s been a lot of different things happen over the last two or three years it’s been hard to figure out what the problem actually is.”
Thanks to “some pretty solid corporate arrangements”, the Sallies haven’t seen a decline in donations, Holt said.
“We’re not struggling but people are struggling.
“We had a family share for the first time their grocery bill is higher than their mortgage.
“Northlanders are paying Auckland prices for rentals and food prices have gone through the roof. Everything associated with ‘how do I get food’ is more expensive now.
“Who is gaining from increased food prices? It’s a hard one to keep stomaching before we actually do something about it.”
Jenny Ling is a news reporter and features writer for the Advocate. She has a special interest in covering roading, health, business and animal welfare issues.
The 19-year-old disappeared without her wallet or mobile phone.