Closing the Loop on Local Food Access Through Disaster Management

Reis, Kimberley; Desha, Cheryl

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-87745-3_53

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

References 5 publications

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“…Considering the disaster management processes of 'prevent-prepare-respond-recover' (PPRR) [16][17][18], this enables local 'bottom-up' prevention and preparedness (PP) actions for social and economic wellbeing, alongside centralized 'top-down' decision making, towards improved response and recovery (RR) [19][20][21]. The state of Queensland is a leading example of this type of governance, which has been well documented in the state's management of more than two thirds of the Country's natural disasters for one fifth of its population, including more than AUD $16 billion in disaster management over the last decade [22,23]. Looking ahead, the Queensland Reconstruction Authority (QRA) is prioritizing 'resilient communities', including increasing budget availability for PP activities towards mitigating the impacts of future disasters [22].…”

Section: Introduction: Increasing Experiences Of Food Insecuritymentioning

confidence: 99%

Working through Disaster Risk Management to Support Regional Food Resilience: A Case Study in North-Eastern Australia

et al. 2022

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As a consequence of disasters such as pandemics and severe weather events, Australian communities often face ‘food shortages’ resulting from the reduced availability of food and reduced access to available food. These food shortages can be acutely felt by vulnerable populations, comprising people in communities who are already dealing with social or economic disadvantages. Despite growing calls to ensure food access for everyone during and following disasters, efforts are still largely ad hoc, champion based and highly variable in their reliability and quality of supply. There is also a disconnect between disaster-related food relief and improving business continuity towards local economic resilience. This study sought to tackle these challenges by exploring how ‘local food access’ could be integrated within disaster management mechanisms, to support the most vulnerable and also contribute to local economic resilience. This paper discusses the findings of a study undertaken in Cairns, a north-eastern Australian regional authority, and involves a review of disaster management planning and policy artifacts, an online survey, and semi-structured interviews with stakeholders providing care and advocacy for vulnerable populations. Synthesizing the findings, we present a disaster-management-focused ‘Local Food Access Model’ that connects shorter food supply chains to improved disaster response, resilience and contingency-planning agendas. Applying this model to Cairns, we conclude the multiple benefits and immediate stakeholder readiness for a virtual (online) food resilience and contingency hub, to enable the connection of local food availability and access information within existing disaster management processes. The research method used, the model, and the case-specific findings provide government decision makers with a useful process, a local food-access schematic and a case study example to support immediate improvements in disaster resilience for vulnerable populations.

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