ABSTRACT

Given the strong links between food security and wellbeing, addressing the increasing lack of access to adequate, appropriate food is necessary to realise the current Aotearoa New Zealand government’s wellbeing-related ambitions. This qualitative survey study engages with the experiences of over 600 food insecure people by analysing open-ended survey responses regarding their experiences of food insecurity and their goals and dreams for the future. Countering neoliberal narratives of the poor as lacking ‘ambition’, our data suggest that participants have extensive goals and dreams for the future, but systemic income inadequacy severely limits them in achieving their aspirations. Many participants aspire for appropriate and fulfilling employment, financial security, and to secure a good life for their whānau; yet current welfare policy settings undermine their aspirations and are at odds with the Government’s own vision of wellbeing, as formalised in the Treasury’s Living Standards Framework. This suggests the exclusion of food insecure people from our national shared vision of wellbeing. We conclude by highlighting the value of understanding and including the goals and dreams of those who are food insecure in the intention, design, and delivery of reforms needed to enhance food security in Aotearoa New Zealand.

摘要

鉴于粮食安全与福祉之间的密切联系，解决日益缺乏获得充足、适当食物的问题对于实现当前 Aotearoa 新西兰政府与福祉相关的雄心是必要的。这项定性调查研究通过分析开放式调查对他们的粮食不安全经历以及他们对未来的目标和梦想的回答，对 600 多名粮食不安全人群的经历进行了分析。与新自由主义关于穷人缺乏“抱负”的说法相反，我们的数据表明，参与者对未来有广泛的目标和梦想，但系统性收入不足严重限制了他们实现抱负。许多参与者渴望获得适当和充实的就业、财务保障，并为他们的家庭获得美好的生活；然而，目前的福利政策环境破坏了他们的愿望，并且与政府自己的福祉愿景不一致，正如财政部的生活标准框架所正式规定的那样。这表明将粮食不安全的人排除在我们国家共同的福祉愿景之外。最后，我们强调了在加强新西兰食品安全所需的改革的意图、设计和实施中理解和包括那些粮食不安全者的目标和梦想的价值。