Interruptions to food supply chains due to severe weather events is a key issue for Disaster Risk Management (DRM).Building resilience to disasters is currently going through a global policy shift. DRM in Australia recognises that communities should not become too reliant on re-supply responses and should make every effort to become self-sufficient in all their needs in case they become vulnerable. Australia's National Strategy for Disaster Resilience aims to build a whole-of-nation approach to disasters that empowers the community to share responsibility for their own resilience through sustained behavioural changes. It identifies that more focus is needed on action-based resilience planning to strengthen local capacity and capability, with greater emphasis on adaptive learning, social support systems and strong social networks.

Due to this call, disaster resilience literature and policies have emphasised the need for better preparation for disaster events, particularly at the community level. Community and school gardens have a long history of providing direct and immediate access to food to avert and alleviate widespread urban hunger during periods of crisis. The United Nations have promoted the functions of community and school gardens globally as viable decentralised food options.

This PhD thesis developed a governance structure that can: 1) enable policy to integrate agendas across and between government departments for building food-related disaster resilience; and 2) democratically manage locally-driven food garden initiatives. Thematic analysis of the literature and interviews with practitioners across disaster resilience, local government, community-based food and school education produced field-based ideas for further knowledge-development and policy formulation.