Foodstuffs South Island has released a report capturing lessons from recent severe weather events and their impact on the supply of food and essential goods.
Keeping the South Supplied drew on the co-operative's experience responding to events including major weather disruption and infrastructure outages, and looked at the practical role supermarkets and their supply partners play in keeping communities supplied.
Foodstuffs South Island Chair Marcel Gray said recent events were useful reminders about the importance of the infrastructure behind the grocery supply chain.
“Most of the time, the food supply chain works quietly in the background. When roads are closed, power is disrupted, or key transport links are affected, its importance becomes very visible,” said Gray.
“Our experience is that maintaining supply depends on a lot of organisations working together, from suppliers and transport operators through to councils and emergency management agencies.”
The report outlined actions taken by Foodstuffs South Island during recent disruptions, including activating incident management arrangements, working with authorities and transport providers, and prioritising supply to affected communities.
The report is being released as infrastructure resilience, freight connectivity and regional growth continue to be strong themes in discussions about the South Island's future. It also noted dependencies within the grocery supply chain, including road and ferry connections, fuel, power and communications.
Foodstuffs South Island Chief Executive Mary Devine said the report was intended to share the co-operative's experience and contribute to ongoing discussions about community resilience.
"There is no single organisation responsible for keeping communities supplied when disruption occurs. It depends on the infrastructure and relationships that connect producers, suppliers, transport operators, retailers and communities,” she said.
“Sharing what we have learned from recent events is one small contribution to that wider conversation.”
Keeping the South Supplied is available here.
