2026 Local Governments Creating Healthier Food Environments Symposium

A free hybrid symposium on strengthening collaboration for a national approach for local governments creating healthier food environments.

This free, online and in-person symposium will convene a national audience of local government actors, policymakers, researchers, and non-government organisations to share knowledge and strategies for fostering healthier food environments.

Our goal is to equip local governments with evidence-based tools and practical solutions to promote healthier communities and address challenges like obesity, diet-related diseases, and food insecurity.

Join us as we hear from:

Michelle Broom, Australian Food Atlas Project Manager, as she shares with us how routine food business data can be turned into clear actionable insights, delivering secure, tailored dashboards that support public health plans, planning decisions and policy advocacy for a healthier more equitable community.

Brett Dunstone, founder and chairperson of Fruit Share Adelaide. Brett will share with us the journey of Fruit Share Adelaide, how they developed systems to coordinate at scale, secured funding, navigated challenges like seasonal variability and food safety compliance, and built credibility with councils and community partners. They’re now developing a business model to ensure long-term sustainability and grow our impact.

Dr Julie Maree Wood will present - Information resources to help refugee and migrant communities navigate the local food environment: what we have, how they’re used, what we need, and what’s next. This presentation will discuss the current resource catalogue, and provide clear guidelines, free tools, and an evidence-based pathway to help guide future local government investment into the catalogue, so that we can better support refugee and migrant populations to navigate their local food environment.

Maddi Cram and Tanya Flockhart. From Glenelg Shire Council and Portland District Health, Maddi and Tanya will present the Harvesting Health and Connection: A Community Fresh Food Initiative. This presentation explores a community Fresh Food Swap initiative delivered through a partnership between a health service and local government. Hosted at the local library, it highlights how collaboration can support healthy eating, food security, knowledge sharing and social connection, while activating public spaces as vibrant community hubs.

Dr Miranda Blake will be launching the RE-FRESH Practice Guides designed for Practitioners, Retailers, and Policy Makers. These guides provide practical, evidence-based strategies to support healthier food retail environments. Designed to bridge the gap between research and practice, they offer clear, actionable steps for those working in policy and retail settings.

Dr Carmen Vargus

Dr Cindy Needham as she launches the National Research Agenda for Australian Local Government Action on Healthy, Sustainable and Equitable Food Environments

This free event is proudly brought to you by the RE-FRESH: Next Generation Centre of Research Excellence in Food Retail Environments for Health in partnership with the Global Centre for Preventive Health and Nutrition (GLOBE) and the Institute for Health Transformation (IHT) at Deakin University.