Fragile New Season - September Update

Fragile New Season Opportunities

These interesting times in which we continue to find ourselves has felt like a country of two halves not just two islands. As Auckland emerges from Level 3 lockdown we wanted to acknowledge the sacrifice that was made by food businesses from hospitality, retail, farmers markets to experience providers and all others in our food system. Despite this lull we continue to see interest in New Zealand food increase here in Aotearoa. Whether it is from TourismNZ seeking a food & beverage strategy, regions recognising the importance of our food producers or eaters wanting food with provenance. Even in these difficult times it’s exciting to be a part of something that’s focussed on our long term success and a resilient future for us all.

National Food Strategy Webinar 3.0

Joining our CEO Angela Clifford on the panel were :

• Karen Williams - Vice President of Federated Farmers New Zealand
• Mike Chapman - Chief Executive of Horticulture New Zealand
• Nicola Harvey - Writer, Farmer, Podcast Producer: 'Debutante' & 'A Carnivore’s Crisis' via Audible AU. Previously Buzz Feed Oz, ABCTV & currently writing a book about farming & food citizenship.
• Lee-Ann Marsh - Global Market Innovation Manager at Beef + Lamb New Zealand

National Food Strategy ConversatioNZ 3.0

You can watch a recording of the conversation here:

Take the National Food Strategy Survey HERE.

Thank you to those who have joined our previous webinar discussions around a National Food Strategy. If you missed them you can watch the recordings here:

1.0 We Don't Need a Ministry of Food, We Need a Citizenry of Food.

2.0 Further ConversatioNZ about a National Food Strategy.

Slow Fish by our Kaitaki

Slow Fish. A significant part of the global Slow Food movement which has presence in 160 countries around the world. Slow Fish celebrates responsible artisanal fishing communities. As such it's a perfect fit for our Eat New Zealand #KnowYourFisher campaign. Despite being a South Pacific island nation with an exclusive economic zone fifteen times larger than our land area, our fishers have largely become invisible to our eaters, leading to disconnection and problems of social licence. What if, instead, we celebrated these amazing men & women and their incredible bravery to pull our food out of the ocean? How can we support them reconnecting to their communities as a way of telling the unique story of New Zealand kaimoana to our own people & to the world? This month our Kaitaki Collective have been tasked with finding a myriad of ways to celebrate the people who catch our fish. Stay tuned on our social channels and website as we add more of their Slow Fish stories. The images below are from the Slow Fish Dinner at Shepherd Restaurant held in Wellington last week, where Chef Max Gordy designed a “slow fish” menu to connect diners with the source of their seafood. You can read more about the event in the Stuff.co.nz article here.

Regional Food Events...

Food Hui 2020: 19th - 20th October

Plans for our sixth consecutive annual Food Hui are still underway for the 19th and 20th October to be held at Te Papa and co-presented with the Restaurant Association of New Zealand. Tuesday 20th October will be our day and we will cover: Food Tourism, a National Food Strategy, Slow Fish, our Kaitaki Collective and A Local Grain Economy for Aotearoa. If you want insight into what’s happening and the people making it happen - grab a ticket now. This year Day 2 of our symposium is being included as a public event as part of VISA Wellington on a Plate - the programme details have been released this month and tickets are on sale from Monday next week, so get in quick!