Primary Care Partnership

Food Security Toolkit

What is Food Security?

Food Security refers to the availability and access to healthy, safe, affordable and culturally acceptable food at all times from non-emergency sources.

Population groups who may be at particular risk of Food Insecurity include:

homeless people
those on low income or living in poverty, including people on pensions and benefits, unemployed people and students (including international students)
people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds
Indigenous Australians
elderly people
people with substance use or problem gambling issues
people with disabilities or mental health issues

The Food Security Tool Kit

The ISEPICH Food Security and Nutrition Working Group has developed this tool kit, designed to assist you or your staff to:

Identify clients who are at risk of or experiencing food insecurity;
Recognise the contributing factors to food insecurity
Direct an individual to appropriate services which will help to address the contributing factors.

Components of the kit are available for viewing and downloading below. Training on the use of the kit, provided by accredited community dietitians, is also available.

For information please contact Val Kay, ISEPICH Health Promotion Coordinator, on vkay@portphillip.vic.gov.au.

Components of the Tool Kit

Your food security tool kit explained This leaflet provides background information on the kit and how to use it. Please read this information before using the kit.

The Food Security Risk Assessment Tool is available on request. This tool will allow you to gather more information on the severity of an individual’s food insecurity status. Please contact Val Kay on the contact details above if you would like a copy of this tool.

What is food security? poster. This poster provides a handy acronym to highlight key aspects of food security: Access to food, food that is Culturally appropriate, food that is Cheap and affordable, Eating healthy/nutritious food, food that is Safe and Socially acceptable (ACCESS).

Improving food access booklet This booklet is solution focused. It highlights the contributing factors to an individual’s food insecurity and links these to services in your local government area which will address these.

The Improving food access cover page and Improving food access contents page can be downloaded as separate documents.

The Referral Poster with Stickers is an alternative way to display the barriers to food security with the local services available which will address these. Stickers can be attached to identify relevant local services.

This may be displayed in an area used by both staff and individuals using your organisation’s services.

The Barriers to food security poster includes icons and accompanying slogans representing the contributing factors to food insecurity.

This tool aims to increase workforce awareness of the many reasons why an individual may be food insecure. It complements the referral pathway booklet.

“Improving Food Access” Referral Contact Pamphlets

This is a set of several leaflets, with each one representing a different contributing factor to food insecurity and the relevant services for each of the local government areas to address the issue. The services listed are the same as those in the Referral Pathway Booklet.

These may be displayed in a public area so that individuals accessing your organisation’s services are able to help themselves to the information. If a particular contributing factor to an individual’s food insecurity is known, the relevant leaflet may also be provided to the individual by staff.

Pamphlet - Money Matters

Pamphlet - Movin and Consumin

Pamphlet - Learn Cook Grow

Pamphlet - Health hurdles

Pamphlet - Community connections

Pamphlet - Ethnic Eats

Pamphlet - Butt out the Binge

Supporting Resources

The following supporting resources are also available. These are included with the full kit or can obtained through Val Kay at the contact details above. Some resources may also be downloaded below.

Promoting food security and healthy eating in the inner south east (leaflet) explains food security in more detail, including groups in the Inner South East at risk, and expands on contributing factors which effect food security.
Emergency relief in Stonnington produced by the City of Stonnington, contains information about agencies providing support, including the relief offered, service location, hours of operation and conditions of accessing the service.
Cheap eats - extensive guide produced by the City of Port Phillip to find good quality, affordable food in your local area. Provides information on meals, food parcels, and food vouchers for each suburb
Caulfield Community Emergency Food Relief - a leaflet that includes Emergency Food Relief Services in the Caulfield Area (available on request) For more information on Emergency Relief in Glen Eira, see also Community Information Glen Eira
Eat cheap for a week - includes budget tips, ideas of cheap and easy meals and snacks with accompanying images of utensils required for preparation (available on request)
Inner East Cheap and Easy Recipes - brochures containing recipes contributed by people living in high rise housing, include cooking for one, cooking for two, microwave meals and oven meals. Simple to follow with step-by-step instructions (available on request)
Transport Guide for the City of Glen Eira - produced by the TransAccess Glen Eira and contains a list of transport options including community, public and medical transport and taxi services.

Other resources of interest

The Port Phillip Urban Fresh Food Network (PPUFFN) connects people throughout Port Phillip who want to grow, access, cook, save and share affordable fresh food.
The development of the Food Security Tool Kit (presentation)