Sharing the tracks to good tucker: identifying the benefits and challenges of implementing community food programs for Aboriginal communities in Victoria

Abstract

Food insecurity is a significant issue in the Victorian Aboriginal population, contributing to the health disparity and reduced life expectancy. Community food programs are a strategy used to minimise individual level food insecurity, with little evidence regarding their effectiveness for Aboriginal populations. The aim of this study was to explore the role of community food programs operating for Aboriginal people in Victoria and their perceived influence on food access and nutrition. Semistructured interviews were conducted with staff (n=23) from a purposive sample of 18 community food programs across Victoria. Interviews explored the programs' operation, key benefits to the community, challenges and recommendations for setting up a successful community food program. Results were analysed using a qualitative thematic approach and revealed three main themes regarding key factors for the success of community food programs: (1) community food programs for Aboriginal people should support access to safe, affordable, nutritious food in a socially and culturally acceptable environment; (2) a community development approach is essential for program sustainability; and (3) there is a need to build the capacity of community food programs as part of a strategy to ensure sustainability. Community food programs may be an effective initiative for reducing food insecurity in the Victorian Aboriginal population.

Culture and healthy lifestyles: a qualitative exploration of the role of food and physical activity in three urban Australian Indigenous communities

“…These avenues provided access to cultural knowledge via dancing, art, bush tucker walks, fishing and learning traditional music, language and stories. For Australian Indigenous communities Sharing Knowledge continues to be a crucial aspect of sustaining links to Country and maintaining health 19,47,48 …”

“…19,46 Expressions of identity and healthy emotions emerged from children who were connecting and being connected to culture. A lack of local knowledge has been associated with major risk factors for poor health outcomes in Indigenous people, 47 signifying the potential importance for connecting Indigenous children to their culture and supporting the passing down of knowledge.…”

“…For Australian Indigenous communities Sharing Knowledge continues to be a crucial aspect of sustaining links to Country and maintaining health. 19,47,48 Aspirations for Learning was identified, with participants expressing an innate desire to seek further knowledge of their Indigenous culture. As the results identify positive health behaviours to be an outcome of engaging with culture, there is potential merit in developing interventions that promote culture as an indirect approach to promoting health.…”

Sectoral system capacity development in health promotion: evaluation of an Aboriginal nutrition program

“…17,[20][21][22][23] Supervised dietetic student placements further built dietitian-Aboriginal community linkages, for example, the implementation of the Aboriginal Community Food Programs Success Stories project. 24 Community feedback further informed the roll-out of food programs within the SecondBite partnership. Thus, the nutrition team developed collaborations both at the community level with Aboriginal organisations and with peak NGOs and academic institutions, building linkages on the basis of the VANPAS across these groups.…”

“…workshops) and in MEND child overweight and obesity training sessions with Aboriginal health professionals and community workers. They strengthened the practice evidence base through community consultation, systematic evaluation, ongoing cycles of action-reflection and community dissemination as well as the disciplinary evidence base through research, publication 5,17,[20][21][22][23][24][31][32][33][34][35][36][37] and presentations. Importantly, they also embedded the VANPAS across the emergent system of the Victorian Aboriginal nutrition sector.…”