Our project aims to make it easier for people in rural Victoria to access fresh, affordable, high‑quality fruit and vegetables. We will do this by closely examining how food moves from farms to local shops. By understanding what works well and where the problems are, we will measure the current impacts of food distribution and work alongside local communities to develop practical, locally relevant solutions. Ultimately, the project seeks to improve health, fairness, environmental sustainability, and economic outcomes in rural areas.
The need
People living in rural Victoria often have poorer health than those in cities. Conditions like heart disease and type 2 diabetes are more common, and one reason is that people eat fewer fresh fruit and vegetables. In many rural areas, healthy food can be harder to find, more expensive, and not as fresh as it should be.
One major reason is how food is transported. Even when fruit and vegetables are grown locally, they often travel long distances through complicated supply chains before ending up back in the same region. This adds to the cost, reduces freshness, and creates environmental problems such as food waste and greenhouse gas emissions.
While a lot of effort has gone into improving how food is grown and sold, much less attention has been paid to how it is distributed — the crucial step between the farm and the consumer. This project focuses on that missing piece, looking at the whole system and how it could work better for rural communities.
About
We will study how fruit and vegetables are currently distributed in the Loddon Campaspe region to understand what is working well and what isn’t. This includes looking at food prices, how easy it is to find fresh produce, impacts on health, environmental effects, and the costs of transporting and storing food.
We’ll work closely with local communities, businesses, and councils to map how the system currently works and identify the biggest challenges. Using this shared understanding, we will bring people together to develop practical, real‑world ideas for improving the system. This approach helps ensure the solutions are realistic, suited to local needs, and capable of making a genuine difference.
Impact
- Better access to fresh, affordable, good‑quality fruit and vegetables for people living in rural communities
- Fairer health outcomes and improvements in diet‑related health
- Reduced environmental impacts from food transport, including fewer food miles and lower emissions
- More efficient regional supply chains, helping to reduce costs across the system
- Stronger local economies and more resilient local food systems
- Practical, evidence‑based actions that can be scaled up and used in other rural areas
- Stronger partnerships between communities, industry, and government
