The Town of Casey says it is committed to improving food safety in accordance with the council’s 2021-2025 Health and Wellness Strategy.
The health and wellness strategy aims to ensure that all residents of Casey have safe and dignified access to nutritious, affordable and culturally appropriate food.
The council is currently looking for participants to paint a picture of food security in Casey as part of its Phase 2 investigation.
In order to come up with the most effective actions to improve access to nutritious, affordable and culturally appropriate food for our community, the council asks residents about their experiences and the changes they would like to see in their area.
The information gathered in this survey will help inform the council’s consultants on the recommendations and guide the council’s action on food safety over the next five years.
The survey will take approximately five minutes to complete.
The consultation period remains open until Friday April 28, 2023 at 12 p.m.
“Dignified” access means access to food through socially acceptable means that do not involve shame or stigma.
The Town of Casey has partnered with Sustain: The Australian Food Network to develop a Food Security Framework for Action, to guide the Council’s short and long term actions.
A City of Casey community survey gathered information from Casey residents about the top enablers and barriers they face in consuming nutritious, affordable, and culturally appropriate meals, as well as high-level priorities for action.
The survey received 159 responses.
Overwhelmingly, affordability is the number one barrier residents face in eating healthy, followed by time constraints for food preparation.
Key priorities for action included ways for residents to access quality food (e.g. farmers markets, community gardens, community transportation), initiatives to reduce food waste, support local food production, integration of food into neighborhood planning and programs to improve food literacy. .
Held in February, a stakeholder workshop brought together 30 people, including council staff from 10 departments, frontline service providers, community organizations and property developers.
Participants discussed the results of the community survey, conducted an analysis of the role their organization could play in food security, and devised short- and long-term priority actions to guide the development of the framework.
The short-term recommendations report details ten actions to be incorporated into the Council’s key strategies in 2023-24.
Everyone who takes the survey is eligible for a chance to win one of two $100 Coles or Woolworths e-vouchers and there are two Myuna Farm family passes up for grabs.