Kai Auckland has been established just a few months but already it has the makings of something very positive. It’s for Aucklanders who yearn to feel connected and a part of a growing resurgence – swapping, creating and caring, over community kai.
Not just a chit-chat over a Sunday roast (although that could certainly make up some of the communal meals being orchestrated around the city), the aims of the group are much more serious including: reducing systemic poverty, child hunger and social isolation.
It comes as no surprise its main focus is food. What I found uplifting was to hear the positive energy that stemmed from such a simple thing, kai. It involves communities caring. It involves individuals and neighbours reaching out, talking and sharing. It involves working together to create a communal meal and every element that this brings – whether it be social, organisational or functional. Indeed, it is about nurturing social connectedness through food.
photo source: Kai Auckland
I contacted Cissy from Kai Auckland to learn more. She tells me in the past 10 days there has been 18 communal meals. Folks were encouraged to bring a plate of food that they’d prepared, or even provide the lemons for someone else to make a dessert. It was the art of connecting with people over the common thread of food that created conversation.
And there is plenty to talk about: growing, creating community gardens, urban container gardening, sharing tips, sustainability, recycling, composting, access to food, food sharing, food rescue, community kitchens, cooking classes, recipes, pop-up gardens…just to name a few.
Simply put I think this is a part of the resurgence back to the ways which worked in past generations. We shared our fruit with our neighbour’s kids. We ate what we could and canned what we couldn’t. We helped those who needed an extra helping hand. The British had allotments, Kiwis had backyards with gardens. We had a ‘waste not, want not’ policy. We composted our waste, handed our gardening skills down to the next generation because food mattered. Little was wasted. It was the antithesis of the consumer throw-away society which plagues most of our lives now.
It was very heart-warming to see the excitement that is beginning to resonate with some communities. It’s nice to have good company!
photo source: Kai Auckland
photo source: Kai Auckland
Kai Auckland is soon to launch its website which will host an array of information for those keen to join the resurgence – from registered kitchens for communal food preparation, classes and events. In the long term, Cissy would love to see Kai Auckland also involved with planting fruit trees on walkways to school and encourage schools to grow them on their premises too.
I wish them the very best and hope to join them in a communal meal too, to show my support.
This is the second in a series of posts ‘Nurture Nature’ where I look at the resurgence in gardening, connecting community and food, glorious food.
