The Ōtara Kai Village is a Eco, Multi functional sustainable space based around Kai, Connection & Creation.  It enables families experiencing food insecurity to have dignified access to affordable nutritious food in their neighbourhood.  It really is about developing a mana-enhancing food distribution practice and where food is the means of connection for us to build relationships and understand the issues contributing to ones food insecurity and then connecting them to the right local places to address those various needs.  It also recognizes that the 'Social' is a vital part of the change process and that food is a powerful connector and catalyst to expanding wider social, economic and cultural opportunities for individuals, families and communities.  Our model is connecting a person to a person and letting food be the means of that connection because you do not solve food insecurity with just food.

We crowd source kai by working with retailers and manufacturers to tackle their surpluses sustainably and securely, managing our own local community garden space, working with local growers, supporting the growth of local businesses while encouraging Eco Environmental & Sustainable practices.  Any profit made goes directly back into sustaining the village, creating employment opportunities and supporting local community initiatives that contribute to seeing our local people thrive and improving their well-being.

We currently operate a social kai store out of a modified 40ft shipping container located in the Ōtara Town Cente, a commercial community cafe space for local start up businesses to operate, a Maori & Pacific boutique gift store, a information/advocacy kiosk and very soon niche outdoor markets.  We are in the process of opening a new community “non plot allocated” garden in partnership with Habitat for Humanity and we aim to run social activation's, workshops & events throughout the year in conjunction with other local service providers and groups in our space.
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One of our future plans in this space is to create an economic model to make it accessible for marginalized entrepreneurs & new comers to start a business.  This Village will look to build local economic development from a place based approach.  We want to create social value but also economic value.  Part of the economic solution to low income neighbourhoods is not training people endlessly to do resumes but teaching them how to run small businesses because those small businesses are going to provide more independence, more wealth and more durability.  We want to enable our community an opportunity to do this with as minimal investment and little bureaucracy as possible so that a path can be cleared for them to thrive.  Our hope is that money not only cycles through our Ōtara community but also money is brought to our community for people to earn a living from.   This is also a great way to animate this under-utilized space in our community to trigger much needed transformation. 

​Thanks to Auckland transport, the Ōtara Kai Village is located right in the heart of the Ōtara Town Centre.  The current space we occupy has been under activated for over 10 years.  It's a main access way for the community who use public transport to get here.  It compliments the existing organisations in that space who are focused on health and well-being.
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