Affordable Food Should Be Within Everyone’s Reach – Greens

Green Party Coromandel candidate Pamela Grealey says the Green Party’s new Affordable Food policy addresses a simple contradiction: Aotearoa produces enough food to feed around 40 million people, yet too many New Zealand whānau are struggling to afford good food themselves.

“We are a country renowned for the food we produce, yet for many people the weekly supermarket shop has become something to dread,” Grealey says.

“Across the Coromandel electorate, people are working hard, raising families and contributing to their communities, but putting good food on the table is taking an increasingly large bite out of household budgets.

“For some whānau, supermarket prices are simply beyond what their household budget can manage. They are having to turn to foodbanks and other community organisations just to make sure there is food on the table.

“Those organisations do extraordinary work in our communities, but we shouldn’t accept a situation where people have to rely on charity simply because they cannot afford the food in our supermarkets. Good, nutritious food should not be a luxury.”

The Green Party’s Affordable Food policy would break up the supermarket duopoly and establish KiwiMart, a publicly owned supermarket focused on affordable food. It would also strengthen action against excessive supermarket pricing and give the Commerce Commission greater powers to protect consumers.

“For years we’ve been told that more competition is what our supermarket sector needs. KiwiMart would provide exactly that: another competitor and another choice for shoppers.

“Nobody would be required to shop there and privately owned supermarkets aren’t going anywhere. KiwiMart would give New Zealanders a publicly owned option focused on providing good food at fair prices, while bringing genuine competition into a market that has been dominated by two major players for far too long.

“That’s what matters to me: giving people more choice and making sure the weekly grocery shop is something ordinary families can afford.”

Grealey says Affordable Food also recognises that food security is about much more than what happens at the supermarket checkout.

The policy includes a $150 million annual Fair Food Fund to support community-led food initiatives, increased food grants, and the restoration and permanent funding of Ka Ora, Ka Ako, with school lunches extended to another 150,000 children.

“I’m particularly pleased that the policy supports using local suppliers for school meals. When we buy those meals locally, we’re not just feeding our tamariki well. We’re supporting local businesses, local jobs and keeping more of that money circulating within our communities.

“We’ve seen local businesses lose school lunch work when the previous model was replaced by a centralised national supplier. In small communities, losing contracts like these can have a real impact.

“Using local providers where possible means public money can do two jobs at once: feeding our children well and strengthening the communities they live in.”

Grealey says the fundamental principle behind Affordable Food is straightforward.

“For me, this really is quite simple. We grow enough food. We have enough food. We should be able to make sure the people who live here can afford to eat well.

“In a country capable of producing enough food for around 40 million people, we shouldn’t have whānau unable to afford the supermarket or children going to school hungry.

“Good food on the table shouldn’t depend on how much money you have. It should be something we can expect for all of us.”