On the Up: Northland couple helps communities grow food amid high prices

NZME has launched On The Up — a national campaign showcasing amazing stories of inspiration, success, courage and possibilities. Reporter Jenny Ling speaks to a Northland couple helping whānau grow their own kai.

Northlanders fed up with sky-rocketing food prices and food insecurity are taking matters into their own hands for the greater good of their communities.

While annual inflation has fallen back into the RBNZ target band, currently at 2.2%, the cost-of-living crisis rolls on for New Zealanders, with food prices remaining stubbornly high.

That – and food insecurity caused by numerous Covid-19 lockdowns – prompted Michelle Wilson-Astle and her husband Tamati Astle to start a business helping whānau grow their own kai.

Tamati Astle and Michelle Wilson-Astle, pictured with their daughter Leorah, are helping whānau be more self-sufficient through their business Grow Your Own Northland. Photo / Jenny Ling

The Tāheke couple’s journey began in 2021 when they struggled to source food from local shops due to Covid travel restrictions and people stockpiling at supermarkets.

Michelle, who was on maternity leave with their third child, asked her builder husband to create raised planter boxes so she could grow her own vegetables.

The budding entrepreneur then posted them on social media, and their business, called Grow Your Own Northland, began to bloom.

Though Tamati “never wanted to be the builder who did garden boxes”, encouragement from Michelle rapidly expanded the business to include shade houses, food storage sheds, chicken coops, garden sheds, and pig pens.

Tamati Astle makes raised planter boxes and shade houses so fellow Northlanders can benefit from growing their own produce.

“I encouraged Tamati to start selling raised planters so everyone had the opportunity,” Michelle said.

“We need to make sure everyone in our community can thrive.”

The couple had support from the Generator, a Ministry of Social Development-funded initiative that provides seed funding and mentorship to help people on low incomes kickstart their business ventures.

Business is “going well”, and they’ve had loads of positive feedback.

Grow Your Own Northland is now a Work and Income NZ [Winz] provider, meaning people can apply for subsidised products.

The business also worked with Te Kura Kaupapa Ā Iwi Ōmanaia by supporting their two-year awa [river] restoration project.

The business initially provided the kura with a greenhouse for their native plants to be planted on the riverbank.

Michelle and Tamati – who also raise calves, and have several pigs and 18 chickens that produce fresh eggs - encourage others to become self-reliant.

Michelle said fresh produce and meats “are becoming unaffordable” for many.

Michelle and Tamati [right] with whānau Anthony Martin and Tainui Harris who offer sustainable tiny home packages for papakainga whenua. Photo / Jenny Ling

“Every time we walk into the supermarket, it feels like prices have jumped again.

“Fresh produce that should be affordable is now a luxury.

“Families are going for cheaper options and processed foods with no nutritional value.

“That’s the saddest part.

“We’re going back to the basics ... it’s time to start encouraging families to plant so there’s kai there for them. We need to lift one another up.”

New Zealanders are paying some of the highest food prices in the OECD.

While food prices fell slightly in February, driven by changes in the price of fruit and vegetables, grocery prices are 4.3% higher compared to the same time last year, according to the latest Stats NZ Selected Price Index.

The Government is now considering a possible break-up of New Zealand’s supermarket duopoly in an effort to boost competition.

Graeme Kettle, pictured with his children Theo and Tamsyn, said increasing numbers of Northlanders want to be self-sufficient as food prices continue to rise. Photo / Jenny Ling

Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced on March 30 that she had commissioned specialist external advice on the ways in which the existing supermarket duopoly could be restructured to improve competition, including a de-merger of existing brands.

Northlander Graeme Kettle, who cultivates an edible forest garden on his Oromāhoe property, said he’s “shocked” at how much prices have increased.

There is a “massive interest” in people growing their own vegetables and being more self-sufficient, he said.

“Initially after lockdown, people worried about food security; they’d go to the supermarkets and a lot of stuff wasn’t there.

“More recently, it’s more about inflation and the food crisis.

“Everything is going up; there’s so many people each week who have to decide whether to heat the house or buy food.

“Even people that aren’t poor, they’re still feeling that pinch.”

While fruit and vegetable prices fell slightly in February, grocery prices are 4.3% higher compared to the same time last year.

Kettle also co-ordinates the Northland Edible Garden Trail, which features inspirational edible gardens that are open to the public every February.

Kettle said it has grown every year since it started in 2020.

“The first year, we had about 18 gardens over one weekend; now we’re over 10 days and we have 40 gardens and about eight big workshops.

“My garden gets 160 people visiting over the weekend, and some in Whangārei get over 200.”

Kettle is also involved in the region’s crop swaps in Kerikeri, Kawakawa, Kaeo, and Kaikohe. There are also regular crop swaps in Whangārei.

“Everyone takes excess produce, plants, and seeds.

“No money changes hands, you bring what you can and take what you need.”

Tamati’s sister Tainui Harris and her husband, Anthony Martin, have started a new business called Stryder Headquarters, which offers sustainable tiny home packages for papakāinga whenua.

Michelle and Tamati’s planter boxes, chicken coops, and shade houses will be included in the packages.

Jenny Ling is a senior journalist at the Northern Advocate. She has a special interest in covering human interest stories, along with finance, roading, lifestyle, and animal welfare issues.