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Healthy people, healthy cities means healthy eating and food security.
According to the Australian Institute of Family Studies, in 2020 between 4% and 13% of the general population were food insecure; and 22% to 32% of the Indigenous population, depending on location.
We advocate for healthy diets that are affordable, sustainable, and culturally acceptable. This approach enhances nutrition and health outcomes while minimising environmental impact.
Healthy eating is crucial in the battle to prevent avoidable chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancers, Type 2 diabetes, stroke, high blood pressure. Eating well is also good for our mood! A healthy diet means:
“We came here looking for the social aspect, but left with great friends, better confidence in the kitchen and better cooking skills. We came here looking for the social aspect, but left with great friends, better confidence in the kitchen and better cooking skills.”
Janet, CCC Participant
Socio-economic factors, urban planning, and policies drive food inequality in cities.
Low-income families struggle to afford healthy, nutritious food, impacting diet quality.
Lack of fresh options limits access to nutritious foods, leading to poor dietary outcomes.
Many Australian families are needing to make impossible choices between purchasing food, paying rent, bills, purchasing clothes etc.
Unhealthy, ‘cheap’ calorie-dense foods, which are often low in nutritional value are heavily marketed.
Loss of agricultural land reduces access to local, affordable, nutritious food.
These factors further limit opportunities for access to healthy, nutrient-rich food sources, like urban farming and local food systems.
To address these issues, we work with partner organisations, community groups and funding bodies, to develop and support the delivery of public health programs focused on healthy eating and food security.
We do this by:
Leading, developing and delivering programs, resources and opportunities that encourage and support increased nutrition awareness and the knowledge and skills to prepare nutritious and affordable food. Learn more
Strengthening local food systems to favour local production, decrease food waste and increase community access to fresh, healthy and affordable food.
Driving policy improvement and advocacy activities that encourage the production of healthier food and drinks and reducing exposure to unhealthy food marketing, especially for children
Our partners are crucial in supporting and enhancing our initiatives to promote healthier and more sustainable food practices across the community.
Food Fairness Illawarra
Food Fairness Illawarra is a community coalition that has worked together since 2005 with the vision to make healthy and sustainable food affordable and accessible for all. The impetus came from events and activities held during Anti-Poverty week, where the concept of food security, a relatively unknown term at the time featured heavily. Founding members of FFI included Healthy Cities Illawarra, Wesley Mission, Community Food Aid providers, Wollongong City Council, University of Wollongong, South Eastern Sydney Illawarra Area Health.
Our action on community wellbeing in 2023-24 included:
April 22, 2025
April 17, 2025
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