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

Kimberley Reis, Cheryl Desha, Sioux Campbell and Prudence Liddy
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Kimberley Reis: Cities Research Institute, School of Engineering and Built Environment, Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD 4111, Australia
Cheryl Desha: Cities Research Institute, School of Engineering and Built Environment, Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD 4111, Australia
Sioux Campbell: Disaster Management Unit, Cairns Regional Council, P.O. Box 359, Cairns, QLD 4870, Australia
Prudence Liddy: Disaster Management Unit, Cairns Regional Council, P.O. Box 359, Cairns, QLD 4870, Australia

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 4, 1-28

Abstract: 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.

Keywords: disaster resilience; vulnerable populations; food insecurity; short food supply chains; local food procurement; disaster management plans; contingency-planning agendas (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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