Kai Ora Fund: Understanding the impacts and potential opportunities for increasing kai resiliency

As part of our work in kai systems, Healthy Families Far North holds a seat as a capability partner for our local Kai Ora Fund. The Kai Ora Fund is a small community grants process to support innovative projects that address food security, increase community resilience and encourage employment and economic development in Te Tai Tokerau.

In 2024, the Kai Ora Fund received 62 applications, seeking just over $270,000 in funding support. A total of $132,500 to 30 applicants was granted, receiving up to $5000 per project. View the funded projects on the website here.

The Kai Ora partners decided to take a deeper dive into the Kai Ora Fund and learn more about the way it works and the impact it has for our communities. We wanted to better understand the wider opportunities of the fund, what’s working well and what’s not working so well and to learn more about what it takes to create a well-connected system of kai resiliency for Te Tai Tokerau.

The Kai Ora Fund is a small and humble grants process, by shifting resources it functions as one part of a solution towards a thriving localised food system. We acknowledge that the Kai Ora Fund is just one player inside of that food system and that it will require a whole of community approach to build a strong, secure and resilient food system in Te Tai Tokerau. These insights and opportunities can help to provide some way to navigate the complexities for us all.

View the Kai Ora Insights here.

Photo credit: William Stiles Creative