Transforming food policy: what will it take?

Introduction by Croakey: The Federal and Victorian Governments should tackle concentrations of power in the food system, support Indigenous food systems, shift from an export-oriented food system toward a localised food systems approach, and support food sovereignty planning at local government level.

These are among wide-ranging recommendations put forward at the recent Victorian Food Policy Forum, which was convened by Sustain: the Australian Food Network, with several Victorian partners.

Participants also called for a national universal school meals program so that every child has a nutritious and locally procured meal every day, and for the governments to appoint a Minister for Food, and to increase support for urban farms, community gardens, food hubs, food cooperatives and local growers.

The Forum’s recommendations “constitute a clear and achievable roadmap for change that, if fully implemented, would have transformative impacts on the lives of millions of Australians, especially the most vulnerable”, writes Dr Nick Rose, Executive Director of Sustain, in reporting below on the Forum.

Nick Rose writes:

At a time of increasing global uncertainty, with the lasting resolution of the Middle East conflict far from clear and its major economic impacts still to come, the need for bold action to strengthen Victoria’s and Australia’s food security is urgent.

One hundred and fifty passionate and experienced leaders from across Victoria and interstate met at the Angliss Conference Centre in Naarm/Melbourne on 22 May for a deep dive into action being taken across Victoria to tackle food insecurity.

The Forum sought to showcase and celebrate the great work being done on the ground across the state, as well as to inform the Federal and Victorian Governments of key needs and priorities to strengthen food security work in Victoria and nationally.

Policy context

The Forum took place nine months into the commencement of the development of Feeding Australia, the National Food Security Strategy, with two key initial phases already completed:

• The publication of a Discussion Paper (August 2025) and the high-level synthesis of the 408 submissions (318 published) on the Department website
• The formation by the Department of a National Food Council to guide and advise the government on the Strategy’s development.

The third phase of co-design workshops is significantly advanced and is expected to conclude this month.

The Victorian Forum was a resounding success, as shown in the feedback and comments, both on the day and subsequently. We invite you to read the full report here.

Below is a summary of key recommendations for action by the Federal and Victorian Governments.

These constitute a clear and achievable roadmap for change that, if fully implemented, would have transformative impacts on the lives of millions of Australians, especially the most vulnerable.

Recommendations

Speakers and participants generated clear and consistent policy asks to be addressed by the Federal Government as it moves forward with the development of Feeding Australia in 2026 and 2027.

Strategy scope and value commitments (Federal)

• Recognise the interconnectedness of health, food, and climate
• Embed a clear values statement that recognises the food system is for the people, not for profit
• Shift the focus from economic output of the food system to community wellness and prosperity.

Governance (Federal and Victoria)

• Develop a National Food Security Strategy based in the Food and Agriculture Organization’s six dimensions of food security
• Establish a Minister for Food and strengthen food systems governance across all levels of government
• Require all local governments to develop food policies and strategic food systems plans
• Establish long-term (5–10 year) strategic planning and funding commitments for food security initiatives
• Improve transparency and accountability across and within the food system.

Economic equity, welfare and affordability (Federal and Victoria)

• Recognise access to good food for all as a basic human right
• Raise welfare payments to improve affordability of healthy food for low-income households
• Increase support for remote and regional food affordability; for example, food hubs in regions
• Embed community voices into food policy development.

  

Tackle concentrations of power in the food system (Federal)

• Address supermarket duopoly power and price gouging, including capping excess profits
• Restrict marketing and advertising of unhealthy and fast food
• Reduce corporate influence in food policy decision-making.

Support for farmers and sustainable farming (Federal and Victoria)

• Increase direct support for farmers through grants, disaster payments, tax breaks etc.
• Support climate-resilient food systems and shorter supply chains
• Reduce reliance on chemical-intensive agriculture
• Support farmers to transition to practices that are profitable while rebuilding healthy soils and biodiversity.

Urban planning, land use and food-sensitive planning (Victoria)

• Protect agricultural land, peri-urban farmland, and green wedges from inappropriate development
• Require food access and food infrastructure considerations in urban development
• Enable local governments to restrict fast-food outlets, particularly around schools and youth spaces.

Community food systems, food sovereignty and local food networks (Federal and Victoria)

• Support Indigenous food systems and culturally-informed food governance
• Shift from an export-oriented food system toward a localised food systems approach
• Support food sovereignty planning at local government level
• Increase support for urban farms, community gardens, food hubs, food cooperatives and local growers.

Education (Federal)

• Develop a national food curriculum that can be taught at schools – must be flexible to local context
• Establish a national universal school meals program: every child to have a nutritious and locally procured meal every day
• Increase investment in food literacy, cooking skills, and food growing education.

Public health, nutrition and procurement (Federal and Victoria)

• Legislate public procurement of healthy, locally-produced food and introduce procurement targets
• Recognise the health impacts of ultra-processed foods and create dietary guidelines around them
• Mandate healthy food choices in schools, council facilities, hospitals and other public institutions
• Promote ‘food as medicine’ approaches and increase nutrition education.

Funding, resourcing and institutional capacity (Federal and Victoria)

• Support multi-year grants and operational funding for community organisations and local governments
• Provide funding for community food planning, working groups, whole-farm planning and collaborative governance models
• Build institutional capacity for food systems planning across all levels of government.

Acknowledgements

Sustain gratefully acknowledges the event partners whose generous support made the Forum possible: the McLeod Family Foundation, Box Divvy, the City of Banyule, Uniting Church – Victoria and Tasmania, the City of Brimbank, the City of Greater Geelong, the City of Merri-Bek, the City of Melton and Nillumbik Shire Council. Sustain also deeply appreciates First Nations leaders Jacob Birch (Yaamarra and Yarral) and Josh Williams (Tumpinyeri Growers), all the panellists from VicHealth, Box Divvy, Farm my School, The Community Grocer, The Community Plate, Alex Makes Meals, Just Food Collective, the City of Greater Bendigo, Healthy Loddon Campaspe, the City of Banyule, Yarra Valley ECOSS, Cultivating Community and Sustainable Table, as well as Dr Kelly Donati from RMIT University and Dr Erica Reeve of Deakin University, who generously gave their time, experience and expertise. This team effort made the event a success.

Author details

Dr Nick Rose is a specialist in sustainable food systems, food policy and food movements, and the Co-founder and Executive Director of Sustain: the Australian Food Network. He was awarded his PhD from RMIT University for investigating the transformative potential of the global food sovereignty movement. During and after his PhD, he co-founded and coordinated the Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance (2010-2015). As a Churchill Fellow (2014), he investigated innovative models of urban agriculture in the US, Canada and Argentina. He supports food system policy and programme work local government and beyond, with research studies and consultancies into urban agriculture, food security and urban food systems. This includes the ground-breaking Pandemic Gardening Survey (2020) and the coordination of four national Urban Agriculture Forums.

See Croakey’s archive of articles on food insecurity and related commercial determinants