This article discusses the findings of a pilot project on food security, food sovereignty, nutrition and health conducted with a small Māori group based in Whakatāne. The article, concerned with healthy lifestyles and Māori access to affordable and nutritional food, discusses a community-based response and points to the necessity of a multifaceted, comprehensive national plan to address Māori food insecurity.

Hua Parakore is an indigenous verification and validation system for mahinga kai (food and product production) that is initiated and driven by Te Waka Kai Ora (National Māori Organics Authority of Aotearoa). It is the realisation of a community driven kaupapa Māori research project located at the flaxroots with Te Waka Kai Ora regional communities. This paper presents Hua Parakore, a kaupapa Māori programme for defining a pure product, such as food, meat, wool and traditional medicines.