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In remote communities in Australia, food security is a serious issue, creating disproportionately high rates of preventable disease. One key challenge is the supply chain. Working closely with Health and Wellbeing Queensland and Torres Cape Indigenous Council Alliance (TCICA), Arup produced a Remote Community Supply Chain Report to help policymakers and industry participants make informed decisions on supply chain issues and achieve positive outcomes for remote communities.
The key objective of this study was to build a picture of food-based supply chains to remote communities, including the stakeholders, infrastructure, facilities, transportation modes, distances and transport routes involved. With multiple handoffs along a supply chain, often no single entity has a clear and complete picture of the journey of produce from paddock to plate. A supply chain map provides a basis for further analysis and data-based decision making to address the issue of food security in remote communities.
We also worked with Health and Wellbeing Queensland and Mornington Shire Council to investigate the feasibility of a market garden on Mornington Island as a means of addressing food security. We consulted with stakeholders through workshops, group conversations and yarns to identify challenges and opportunities for the market garden – including lessons learnt from the previous operation of a market garden on the island.
Building a picture of food-based supply chains to remote communities
The key objective of this study was to build a picture of food-based supply chains to remote communities, including the stakeholders, infrastructure, facilities, transportation modes, distances and transport routes involved.
With multiple handoffs along a supply chain, often no single entity has a clear and complete picture of the journey of produce from paddock to plate. A supply chain map provides a basis for further analysis and data-based decision making to address the issue of food security in remote communities.
Our study aimed to answer fundamental questions about supply chains to remote communities, including:
- Where does produce originate?
- How does it get to consumers?
- How far does it travel and how resilient is the route to major climatic events?
- How long does it take?
- Who is involved?
Escalating fuel prices increase transport costs, which directly impacts food prices. And, in far-north Queensland, we also needed to consider the impact of the region’s weather patterns – from flooding and road closures to cyclones and climate change, which may exacerbate existing conditions.
And, while not the focus of our study, the issues caused by long supply chains associated with food delivery also apply to other critical provisions, including health supplies and pharmaceuticals, which has an additional impact on the general health and wellbeing of the community.
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