Analysis of the food literacy programs and their sustainability in the food relief sector in Western Australia

Food literacy is an emerging concept to describe the knowledge, skills and behaviours required for healthy eating. The term's use has increased and food literacy has become a new strategy to prevent food insecurity. In Western Australia (WA), the largest state in Australia with various regional areas, implementation of food literacy programs to improve food insecurity is even more challenging. The purpose of this research was to identify and analyse food literacy programs and their content currently available in the food relief sector in WA. A comprehensive search strategy was applied to search, select and extract relevant data of targeted programs (n = 8). A Food Literacy Innovative and Sustainability Tool (FLIST) was developed to audit the programs using 17 criteria from two aspects: food literacy model (Vidgen & Gallegos, 2011) and sustainability components that audited the long‐term efficacy of the programs. A score (total score of 20), 11 from food literacy components and 9 from sustainability components, ranked the programs. Five programs did not meet all the food literacy criteria and lacked budgeting or food selection skills, especially for children/adolescent food literacy programs. The FLIST identified the gap between application of food literacy programs in vulnerable groups and pedagogy and sustainability factors to build food literacy and food security. Researchers and organisations in the food relief sector are recommended to validate and utilise the FLIST for future assessment of food literacy programs, with a view to improve the situation of food insecurity and diet‐related problems among disadvantaged populations in WA.