This report outlines the findings of an investigation into the resilience of Melbourne’s food system to climate and pandemic shocks and stresses.

Key findings:

• Melbourne’s food system will face more frequent and severe shocks in future related to climate change, including fire, flood and drought
• Melbourne’s food system faces a range of other shocks and stresses including pandemic, energy shocks and ecological stresses
• The 2019-2020 bushfires in south-east Australia and the COVID-19 pandemic had impacts throughout the food system from production to consumption
• Vulnerabilities in Melbourne’s food system include geographic and corporate concentration, long ‘just in time’ supply chains, insecure employment in food and farming and high levels of food loss and waste
• The resilience of Melbourne’s food system is undermined by ongoing food insecurity in the region, which is exacerbated by shocks and stresses
• Rising food insecurity during shocks and stresses is mainly addressed through emergency food relief, which is the responsibility of the charitable sector
• Diversity is a key feature of resilient food systems – in the geographic locations that food is sourced from, the scale of food and farming enterprises, the types of enterprises that supply food and the types of food that are grown
• Other features of resilient food systems include adaptation and innovation, decentralisation, and collaboration and networks
• There is a need for long term planning for the resilience of food supplies that draws on the lessons learned from recent shocks to the food system, such as the 2019-2020 bushfires and the COVID-19 pandemic
• As the frequency and severity of shocks and stresses increases, there is a need for government leadership in food resilience planning at all levels of government, with a focus on the food security of those who are most vulnerable to the impacts of shocks and stresses