How Mataura’s Garden is Helping Shape Murihiku’s Food Future
Murihiku Kai Coordinator Steve Broad shares his experience visiting the Mataura Community Garden and its connection to the "Feeding Murihiku - Our Good Food Road Map" strategy.
Poipoia te kākano kia puawai – Nurture the seed and it will blossom.
On a drizzly Southland morning in March, I pulled into a gravel car park I’d never noticed, but no doubt had passed hundreds of times while sneaking the back way to Dunedin. I met Nicky, the chair of the local community board, who I’d been texting the day before, accepting the invitation to come see the space she’d spoken so passionately about. I can tell she’s excited to see it again, through my fresh eyes. She leads me through a wooden gate and along a path behind a large greenhouse. Soon enough, my view expands beyond the greenhouse to an adjoining paddock, and I’m immediately floored. The space, at the base of a hill, is lined with row after row of plantings and produce – the most incredible, expansive, and beautifully maintained vegetable garden: the Mataura Community Garden.
I’m unsure if my jaw came off the dirt for the next hour.
Through the squelching of gumboots and wet-weather gear-laden volunteers, organising themselves into their morning duties, a strong figure slowly makes his way towards me, down a line of mounded dirt, being careful not to waver and step onto the row of young lettuce to his right and broccoli to his left.
I immediately begin to regret my outfit choice: black skate shoes, denim shorts, and a t-shirt that scream “towny,” “visitor,” and would’ve brought instant shame to the generations of sheep farmers that led to my existence.
The man puts out his hand, and I firm up my grip, unnecessarily bracing for impact. “Mike,” he said.
I instantly knew this was a good man. I’d later find out that Mike wasn’t just the person I’d driven from Invercargill to talk to about the community garden, but also the local church pastor, head of Mataura Lions Club and a champion of the town’s Blokes Shed group.
Instantly, I knew Mike carried mana in the group because, as he warmly ushered Nicky and me into the greenhouse to avoid the rain, we were politely interrupted by dedicated volunteers eager to pick his brain over the pressing issues of the morning.
As we chatted in the shelter and warmth of the greenhouse, lined with orange peppers and courgettes, Mike and Nicky told me a story about how they are helping to feed the community they love through their local community garden.
The Mataura Community Garden is special. It hugs you as you walk in.
Barbara Cunningham was the garden’s original pioneer, and in the spring of 2009 the first seeds were planted. It was born out of a desire Barbara had to teach her community how to grow plants, and support them by offering locally grown, fresh and cheap vegetables.
Mike took over a few years later and now helps lead an incredible group of volunteers who meet every Saturday morning over harvest season, at 9 a.m. at 190 Kana Street.
At a guess, there are fifteen volunteers in the garden this morning, including Nicky’s nephew Hunter, who spent the morning rustling through the broad beans with his mates showing off his alien potato, which was growing its own mini potatoes on its skin. I met Suzanne, who told me that the garden had been a great connector after moving south from North Island, and she wanted her kids to understand more about how to grow their own food. Then there was Doug, arguably the character of the group at 88 years old. He’s got an unforgettable grin and is a keen member of the group. These are just a few of the garden’s crucial volunteers, young and old, dedicating a Saturday morning in preparation for their 10 a.m. deadline.
At 9:45 a.m., Mike starts to lead the team out into the car park. There’s a secret that everyone seems to know but me, and a shared excitement about what’s about to happen. Like clockwork, the unassuming timber shed I had walked past on my way in is transformed, by Mike and his team, into the most delightful, robust market stall. This stall has been built with classic Southland ingenuity. One wall panel lifts up to become a shelter, revealing three rows of shelves. Then, plastic bread crates slide perfectly into place, lined with the freshest of produce from the garden. At a quick tally, there’s marrow, silver beet, tomatoes, red onion, cabbage, cucumber, red chillies, lettuce, purple carrot, and courgettes. It’s stunning.
The next part, I couldn’t help being moved by. Just as Mike had told me, a line began to form at the stall. Paper bags are handed out to those who need them, and at 10 a.m., just like every other Saturday, members of the Mataura community take whatever and however much they need for a gold coin donation.
Contrary to how it may sound, there isn’t a feeling of charity or stigma. There are jokes, laughter, familiarity, and connection. This is a community that knows one another, and there’s an overwhelming sense of acceptance. That is Mataura. A community committed to feeding their people.
Mataura is working together on several initiatives to feed their community over winter too.
The Mataura Community Garden is doing its bit to answer the call to help fix our broken food system, as laid out in our region’s Feeding Murihiku – Our Good Food Road Map.
Released in 2024, the strategic document sets out a vision for a more secure and resilient local food system, where everyone in Murihiku has access to affordable, nutritious food. Set against the backdrop of some of the worst food insecurity rates in the OECD, where at least one in five Kiwi children experience regular food insecurity, an abundance of unhealthy food options, an unbalanced local food market where producers are struggling to compete, a reliance on Christchurch distribution channels for our food, and an environment where the impacts of climate change are becoming increasingly real, Feeding Murihiku sets a seemingly ambitious goal.
That is until you spend time with people like Pastor Mike.
This story of Mataura is just one example of what can happen when communities come together to build a resilient, local food system. Feeding Murihiku – Our Good Food Road Map offers us a blueprint for a food system that’s fairer, more sustainable, and more resilient for everyone across the region.
This strategy isn’t just a document for local leaders, food producers, or policymakers. It sets out ways parents, teachers, business owners and neighbours can make a difference in our community. Whether it’s growing or gathering your own food, supporting local farmers and producers, creating food security networks or advocating for positive change, there’s a place for everyone.
I encourage you to take some time to read the Feeding Murihiku document and think about how you can incorporate its principles of sustainability, community and shared responsibility into your own work, your own community, and your everyday life.
Together, we have an opportunity to rethink, and reshape our food system, not only in Murihiku, but across Aotearoa. The vision of the Good Food Road Map can only be realised if we all get involved, take action, and share the responsibility of building a food system that works for everyone.
Let’s start making the vision a reality - together.
The Mataura Community Garden is open to anyone in the community and is always looking for new volunteers to help support their vision. Volunteers are rewarded with fresh vegetables for their time. If you’d like to volunteer, or find out more, you can message the Mataura Community Garden on Facebook or call Mike on 027 229 7218.
You can check out “Feeding Murihiku - The Good Food Road Map” document here:
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I love this story! Thanks so much for sharing the community magic happening in Mataura Steve.
Awesome ☺️ thanks for sharing the special story of this community, their amazing garden and kai.