GFPA Community of Practice - Building the ecosystem for good food purchasing

Healthy, sustainable and resilient institutional food systems are shaped by far more than procurement alone. They are influenced by the relationships between organisations, the way food services operate, the capacity of suppliers, policy settings, leadership, infrastructure and the many people who contribute to making change happen.

This Community of Practice session explores why successful demonstrations begin by understanding these broader systems before deciding where to act. Drawing on international and local experience plus Good Food Procurement Australia's emerging demonstration work, participants will explore how different places have created the conditions for change and consider what these experiences might mean in their context.

Rather than presenting a single model to follow, the session invites our Community of Practice to build understanding together. Through stories, discussion and practical application, participants will be introduced to the Good Food Procurement Australia Framework as a tool for revealing and understanding institutional food systems, identifying local strengths and opportunities, and supporting demonstrations.

The session is designed around five connected conversations that progressively build understanding:

1. Understanding the Challenge – Why is changing institutional food systems complex? 

2. Learning from Others – What can successful demonstrations teach our Community of Practice? 

3. Building the Ecosystem – How can you reveal and understand your own ecosystem? 

4. Revealing the Ecosystem – How could you use the GFPA Framework? 

5. Learning Together – What might this mean for our own work? 

Throughout the session, participants will contribute their own experiences and perspectives, recognising that every place has a different starting point and that our collective experience and learning strengthens the evidence base for healthier, more sustainable and more resilient institutional food systems across Australia.