The Victorian Environments for Health (E4H) Municipal Public Health Planning Framework (Victorian Department of Human Services, 2001) is based on the natural, built, economic, and social environments. The systemic view inherent in E4H is reflected in the definition of food security adopted in this Project.
Food security
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Food security can be defined as the state in which all persons obtain a nutritionally adequate, culturally acceptable diet at all times through local non-emergency food sources.
Food security broadens the traditional conception of hunger, embracing a systemic view of the causes of hunger and poor nutrition within a community while identifying the changes necessary to prevent their occurrence. Food security programs confront hunger and poverty”
(Community Food Security Coalition, 2002)
The E4H Municipal Public Health Planning framework was utilised to scan the dimensions and opportunities for improving local area water security and food security through costeffective and integrated and iterative local government processes and planning, which can be progressed through good governance.
We have an individual choice in what we eat but we have a governance and collective responsibility to see that there are systems in place to support (and not impede) the household and individual choices that will strengthen the collective and lifetime resilience, independence and health and wellbeing of our communities.
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