Within the current global food landscape, food security is more relevant than ever. Vegetables sit at the centre of this challenge: essential for health, affordable when accessible, and a cornerstone of a resilient food system. Yet rising fuel and fertiliser costs, supply‑chain fragility and declining grower margins mean vegetables are both critically important and increasingly vulnerable. Many growers are facing losses they cannot sustain, placing Australia at risk of a long‑term supply crisis.
Food security exists when all people, always, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food. It rests on four dimensions availability, access, utilisation and stability. When any of these weaken, food insecurity emerges. Today, all four are under pressure.
At a national level, Australia’s food production environment is fragile. Although 98% of vegetables consumed domestically are grown here, the horticulture sector is struggling. Forty per cent of growers report they are considering leaving the industry, and 80% would sell if offered a fair price. Narrow margins, declining demand and rising costs threaten regional jobs and long‑term national food security.
At a household level, the newest OzHarvest Cost of Surviving Crisis report shows food insecurity is now structural, affecting 1 in 8 households and 1 in 3 sole‑parent households. Alarmingly, 36% of people seeking food relief are doing so for the first time. Frontline charities are stretched, and while food relief is essential, it is increasingly recognised as a band‑aid solution to a deeper systemic problem.
This is the landscape in which Plus One Serve plays a critical role. The program strengthens food security from both sides of the system: supporting growers and supply, while also improving affordability, food skills, retail accountability and consumption. By working across the full chain, Plus One Serve addresses the structural conditions that shape what Australians grow, buy and eat.
A key driver of this work is the Pledge for More Veg, which brings together growers, retailers, organisations and consumers to increase vegetable consumption and build a healthier, more resilient food system. Through tailored, public‑facing action plans, organisations commit to real, measurable change, ultimately supporting better outcomes for both growers, households and communities.
Plus One Serve also strengthens food security by supporting and amplifying ongoing research and development. Through Hort Innovation’s investment, the program contributes to constructive, reformative research that builds the evidence base needed to transform Australia’s food environment and ensure long‑term resilience.