Support a healthy, sustainable & fair food system to take root.
Right now, more Australians are struggling to access healthy, affordable food. Rising living costs, housing pressure and growing inequality are placing enormous strain on households and communities, and the systems meant to support them are falling behind.
At Sustain, we’re working to make sure community voices are heard where decisions are being made, at Federal and state levels.
In the past year, this work has included:
- A national webinar to support engagement with Feeding Australia – 350 registered attendees
- Supporting members and stakeholders to engage with Feeding Australia through a template – together with the webinar, this contributed to over 400 submissions being made to DAFF in response to their Discussion Paper
- Two articles in The Conversation setting out community expectations for Feeding Australia – May and October 2025
- A National Food Policy Forum in Launceston with 80 attendees including several politicians (Dec 2025)
- A national webinar examining the impacts of the Middle East crisis on food security in Australia with 300 registered attendees (April 2026) and an article in Croakey
- A national Food Security Pulse Check survey to understand how Australians feel about the growing crisis and actions they are taking – 676 respondents (Apr 2026)
- A Victorian Food Policy Forum in Melbourne with 150 attendees including 16 local governments and VicHealth (May 2026)
- A Fast Food Forum in Northcote (May 2026) to support community opposition to a new McDonalds and an article in Croakey (April 2026)
In the coming months, our goal is to deepen and expand this work, through strategic activities including:
- A Vote for Food campaign leading into the Nov 2026 Victorian election, with a focus on planning reforms to control the expansion of the fast food juggernaut
- A WA Food Policy Forum in Perth, building on the success of the events in Launceston and Melbourne
- Capacity building with local governments to support community-led responses to the food security crisis
- Ongoing advocacy to the Federal and State governments for systemic responses to food insecurity as well as much greater resourcing for community food security and food resilience plans and actions
- Strengthening the national food systems movement through expanded membership and actions on the Australian Food Network platform
Through all this work and much more, we’re connecting food system change-makers and creating spaces for local governments, community organisations, researchers and advocates to shape practical solutions for a fairer, healthier food system.
As EOFY approaches, we’re asking for your support to help continue this work.
Your donation helps Sustain advocate for stronger food policy, amplify community leadership, and push for long-term solutions that improve health, equity and sustainability across Australia.
If you’ve been thinking about giving, now is the time. Donations over $2 made before June 30 are tax deductible.
As a non-for-profit organisation registered as a charity with the ACNC and with DGR status, all donations over $2 made to Sustain: The Australian Food Network are tax deductible. Thank you for your support.