"Keep your Kai, Keep it Kind"
Kai-ranger, a combination of the Māori word for food, Kai, and the English word for protection, ranger, is a diversified toolkit designed for New Zealand that encourages lifelong healthy eating, minimises waste and raises awareness of food safety.
How might we empower pre-adult students to self-determine the food they consume to protect their Taha Tinana (physical health) and nourish the Taha Whenua (environmental wellbeing) by reducing food waste?
As a Treaty partner with a bicultural experience of Korea and New Zealand, the project is to understand the ongoing relationship between tangata whenua (people of the land) and their ancestral land, water and taonga (treasures). Through Kai-ranger, I honoured the customs and knowledge of our people and embedded and shared the knowledge gained.
Kai-ranger investigated ways to make food safety more important to customers in New Zealand. After examining consumption and waste statistics in our research on New Zealand's current food safety practices, concluded that all demographic groups deserved access to thorough food safety education. The project developed Kai-ranger to reflect New Zealand's diversity and educate the importance of food information.
The goal of Kai-ranger is to serve as the cornerstone of youth education, encouraging healthy eating habits for life. In addition to advancing consumer health, the project supports larger national objectives of minimising ecological effects, encouraging informed food choices, and protecting the environment and decreasing waste.
