Major initiatives to boost food access and establish nutrition, cooking and gardening programs will soon be afoot thanks to a $500,000 grant.

Amity Health recently received funding to lead a food security pilot project, helping establish local food action groups in the Wheatbelt and Great Southern regions.

The pilot project will be run in Narrogin, Katanning, Kojonup, Broomehill-Tambellup, and Gnowangerup, and will help ensure vulnerable community members have access to food.

Amity Health has received $538,318 from Healthway to work with Edith Cowan University to build the project over the next three years.

The organisations will work with residents, Aboriginal community leaders, government, and food retail and relief partners to develop action plans specific to the region and the community’s needs.

The program aims to research and establish three community initiatives in each region to support local food access, facilitate nutrition, encourage cooking and gardening programs, and help build local skills and resilience.

The pilot will build on outcomes of the previous Healthway-funded Food Community project, which was also led by ECU.

The previous project developed a Statewide map of food security initiatives in WA, highlighting what programs existed and where.

Food action groups and local initiatives were identified as key steps to better food security for regional communities, and this next stage of the project will help build them for communities in the Wheatbelt and Great Southern.

Amity Health chief executive officer Pam Bubrzycki said the organisation was excited to lead the initiative.

“We support the health and wellbeing of people living in regional WA, and this pilot will draw on our established local relationships and strong regional presence to drive sustainable, local impact,” she said.

“As part of the funding, we will work with ECU and alongside our partners and community to make access to healthy and affordable food a priority.”

Healthway chief executive officer Colin Smith said the pilot was an important step in continuing the work already being done for regional communities.

“Through the Food Community project, we’ve seen that regional communities are already working together to improve local food systems,” he said.

“But stronger, more formal partnerships are needed to tackle the bigger challenges.

“To help everyone eat well, we need food systems that are fair, sustainable and accessible, built on strong partnerships, a shared vision, and co-ordinated action.

“That’s exactly what this pilot aims to deliver.”