The Mana Kai Pou is a code that reflects the fundamental values and principles that organisations commit to giving effect within Aotearoa New Zealand’s food system.

These values and principles encompass areas such as food equity, good nutrition, sustainability, and shared prosperity.  Organisations across the food sector will be invited to sign-up and make public commitments aligned with the Mana Kai Pou.

A Mana Kai Pou organisation will publicly commit to playing their part in ensuring every New Zealander has access to the food they need in a way that enhances their mana and the surrounding environment.

Establishment of community procurement agency and network of food outlets to address ongoing food insecurity with the provision of accessible, affordable and nutritious food.

This action will seek to encourage a new form of low cost online not-for-profit food platform.  This action will involve direct ownership, extension, and collaboration with New Zealand Food Network, and operate in parallel with regional and community initiatives with physical stores and food distribution centres.

The established not-for-profit platform will act as a centrally connected procurement agent, entering into contracts with food producers, processors and importers to ensure affordable nutritious food supplies utilizing using existing networks and entities.

An enhanced school food and nutrition programme.

This action acknowledges that each school and its surrounding community may have unique needs, capabilities and existing initiatives. The priority identified is the valuable opportunity for co-ordinated but customised delivery of healthy meals alongside nutrition education and food skills to schools and Kura as appropriate while aligning or building on existing activity.

Integrating a whole-food-system approach to future mission-led scientific research

The Mission-led food system science proposes working with MBIE to align and support the Te Ara Paerangi Future Pathways system redesign to prioritise holistic research on food systems in the Aotearoa New Zealand context. Key to this will be a multidisciplinary approach with diverse engagement across the system, using methodologies from both mātauranga Māori and western science.

Creating and using accessible and Aotearoa-focussed nutrition information.
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Updating New Zealand’s dietary guidelines is proposed to focus on the food and nutrition component of the current national healthy eating, drinking and activity guidelines. This action suggests a greater national focus on the unique challenges, opportunities and cultural considerations of New Zealand’s food system. The action is to evolve the current dietary guidelines, leveraging the nutrition survey and to develop a comprehensive communication and implementation strategy.

An exploration of opportunities for climate positive food and resilient oceans.
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This initiative aims to bring a collective together to create a Kaimoana Strategy for New Zealand, providing the direction for the future of our ocean systems in relation to food. This strategy would facilitate alignment and collaboration across the range of actions focused on strengthening the role our oceans can play in the production of foods, bioproducts and climate positive production.

Supporting pathways for regenerating food production.
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Deliver an updated quantitative and qualitative analysis of the benefits, risks, and potential market impacts of biotechnology (including gene editing) across the food sector, and use this as the basis for a national conversation about the role of biotechnology in Aotearoa’s food system.

A national conversation on biotechnology in our food system.
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Deliver an updated quantitative and qualitative analysis of the benefits, risks, and potential market impacts of biotechnology (including gene editing) across the food sector, and use this as the basis for a national conversation about the role of biotechnology in Aotearoa's food system.