Hot food: What does a truly resilient local food system look like for Melbourne?
What happens when extreme heat meets the food system? Here, our Food Systems convenor Dheepa Jeyapalan chats with Sweltering Cities founder, Emma Bacon, to discuss what it’ll take for Melbourne’s food system to become truly resilient to extreme heat events and more.
As temperatures rise across Melbourne and the world, our food system stands at a critical crossroads. But our planning efforts lag behind the accelerating pace of climate change. From farms to distribution centres, grocery stores to public markets and kitchens, every link in our food chain faces unique vulnerabilities that demand urgent attention.
Sweltering Cities is working to address these issues, advocating for policies, infrastructure, and solutions that keep people safe in extreme heat. It’s work that aligns and supports the goals of Regen Food Systems. Regen Food Systems Convenor, Dheepa Jeyapalan, and Sweltering Cities founder, Emma Bacon, discuss the biggest challenges facing Melbourne’s food systems in the face of increasingly extreme weather conditions.
Melbourne's summers are getting hotter each year. How prepared are we as a city to handle this new normal?
Emma: Melbourne is not prepared. Every summer, we see growing risks to health, infrastructure, and communities – yet policies are not keeping up with the reality of climate change. Many homes, especially rentals, lack adequate cooling, and extreme heat events strain our electricity, transport and healthcare systems. People working outdoors – like delivery drivers, farm workers, and construction workers – face serious health risks, often without proper protections. Heatwaves are now Australia’s deadliest climate disaster, but we still treat them as short-term weather events rather than systemic threats requiring long-term planning and adaptation.
Rising temperatures will transform how Melburnians access, prepare, and share food. What specific changes should we anticipate?
Dheepa: Rising temperatures in Melbourne will impact every part of our food system. Farmers will be among the first to feel these effects, as changing conditions will influence what they can grow, how much they can harvest, and ultimately, their livelihoods and wellbeing. Further along the supply chain, increased heat and a higher risk of bushfires could severely disrupt food transportation by rail and road, making it harder to get food into the city. At the same time, Melbourne’s shrinking food bowl – once a reliable source of fresh, local produce – means we’re increasingly dependent on food from distant regions. This leaves our food supply more vulnerable to disruptions caused by extreme heat, leading to more empty supermarket shelves and shortages of certain products.
Even at the consumer level, heatwaves could make it too hot for people to travel to stores to buy food. Higher temperatures also increase the risk of food poisoning, as bacteria thrive in warm conditions. For those without adequate cooling at home, cooking could become difficult or even unsafe. Also, we must consider the wellbeing of those working across the food supply chain. Delivery drivers, for example, are in high demand during heatwaves, yet they face serious health risks from working in extreme temperatures.
“The key is fostering collaboration between sectors that have traditionally operated separately but ultimately share a common goal: nourishing communities.”
Emma: Extreme heat will impact the food system in ways we haven’t fully accounted for. During heatwaves, food deliveries slow down, supermarket refrigeration systems struggle, and fresh produce spoils more quickly in transport and on shelves. People in hot homes without air conditioning may find it unsafe to cook, pushing them toward expensive takeaway meals or going without. Community food programs and local markets could also face disruptions, affecting people who rely on them for affordable fresh produce. Importantly, extreme heat will make food more expensive and food insecurity worse, particularly for people on low incomes who already have limited options.
Right now, we’re reactive rather than proactive. We don’t have clear heatwave response plans for food systems, nor do we have policies to ensure that renters and vulnerable households can stay cool enough to store and prepare food safely. The resilience of our food system also depends on protecting workers – farmers, truck drivers, supermarket staff – who are already struggling with dangerous heat conditions.
How ready are we for the challenge presented from these changes?
Dheepa: We still have a long way to go in securing our food system against rising temperatures. There’s a false sense of security that comes from Australia being seen as a “food secure” nation, simply because we produce large amounts of food. However, much of what we grow is destined for export, and our domestic supply remains highly vulnerable to disruptions. One major weakness is our reliance on a supermarket duopoly, which leaves us exposed to supply chain breakdowns. We saw this firsthand last year when a strike at a Woolworths distribution center led to noticeable shortages on supermarket shelves. To build true resilience, we need to rethink how food reaches our communities. That means diversifying our supply routes so we’re not dependent on a single dominant system.
What crucial conversations need to happen across the food and climate change sectors to build resilience against rising temperatures?
Dheepa: The key is fostering collaboration between sectors that have traditionally operated separately but ultimately share a common goal: nourishing communities and protecting the environment. These conversations should focus on finding common ground – identifying shared priorities for advocacy, aligning efforts, and exploring ways to exchange knowledge and resources.
Emma: The most important people to bring into the conversation are people who are impacted in their homes, workplaces and communities. Too often, climate adaptation is over-professionalised which runs the risk of plans and solutions either not being adequate responsive to rapidly changing impacts and systems, or not getting buy-in from impacted communities.
What do you personally hope to achieve or learn from our upcoming Hot Food workshop?
Dheepa: We hope to spark new connections between people who may not have crossed paths before. Our goal is to bring together climate and food system experts to highlight how deeply interconnected their work is. Beyond sharing knowledge, we want this workshop to be action-oriented. We’ll take a close look at the real vulnerabilities in our food system, identify key strengths and opportunities, and explore concrete steps that different sectors can take to build resilience. Whether someone works in local government, a community food agency, a neighborhood house, or academia, we want every participant to walk away feeling like there is something they can implement in their own work.
“Reducing our dependence on supermarkets is key to building a more secure and adaptable food system for Melbourne’s future.”
Emma: I want to deepen the conversation on how heat intersects with food insecurity and inequality. Many climate resilience conversations focus on floods and fires, but heat is just as disruptive – especially for vulnerable communities. I’m excited to learn from others about how we can integrate heat resilience into food policies and see where our work at Sweltering Cities can contribute to solutions.
Looking ahead, how would you like to see this conversation evolve into meaningful action? What would success look like in terms of Melbourne's response to food system challenges in a hotter climate?
Dheepa: We need to see policies that meaningfully secure our food supply chain, such as protecting Melbourne’s food bowl. It’s also essential to strengthen protections for those working in the food system, as well as farmers and producers who are on the frontlines of climate change. Beyond policy, we must explore financial instruments like subsidies to ensure that lower-income communities can still access food. Urban planning should also prioritise food accessibility, so that no-one has to endure dangerous conditions just to reach a food source. Additionally, we need to rethink how institutions and businesses procure food. Strengthening our supply chains means prioritising sourcing practices that enhance resilience and diversifying how food enters our city. Reducing our dependence on supermarkets is key to building a more secure and adaptable food system for Melbourne’s future.
Join Dheepa and Emma at Regen Melbourne, Sweltering Cities and the Lord Mayors Charitable Foundation’s forthcoming workshop, ‘Hot Food: Building Melbourne's Food System Resilience in a Warming World’.
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