A funding boost over the next three years will help boost food security and create a collaborative hub for the Ieramugadu community in Roebourne.

Sodexo Australia and Stop Hunger have contributed $120,000 to launch the town's first community garden, an initiative led by the Ieramugadu community.

Once mature, the garden will supply fresh fruit and vegetables for the town's only supermarket and social enterprise Ieramugadu Store Maya, as well as be a hub for workshops, educational programs, cultural integration, mentoring and community gatherings.

Ngarluma-Yindjibarndi Foundation CEO Sean-Paul Stephens said a lack of access to fresh food was a major barrier for the Roebourne community.

"The Ieramugadu community have championed Traditional Owner-led liveability, which in this community means more than houses and services… it's about having spaces that nurture wellbeing and connection," Mr Stephens said.

"The Elders have been clear that place-based healing is a priority in Ieramugadu, and this garden is a direct response to that vision. It's a living symbol of the community shaping its own future."

The garden has been designed as fully circular, with food waste from the store and café composted into mulch.

Members of the community are also encouraged to bring their own food scraps for composting.

"The garden is already sparking conversations about how culture, environment and community aspirations can come together," Mr Stephens said.

"From Traditional Knowledge about planting seasons to innovative sustainability practices, this space brings people into dialogue about what a thriving and healthy Roebourne looks like."

Once established, the garden will become a focus of future collaborations with Roebourne district schools, introducing activity programs such as hands-on horticultural training.

Roebourne's Nanna Pansy and Nanna Violet, and senior men such as Elder Timmy Douglas and emerging leaders from across the community, were instrumental in getting the project - first mooted in 2023 - off the ground.

Their cultural knowledge and ongoing guidance have since proved invaluable, particularly in advising on seasonal plant varieties that align with Traditional practices and the needs of the garden, which will also feature shade trees and native groundcover, which create a microclimate, as well as fruit trees, bush foods, and popular kitchen seedlings including carrots, tomatoes and cucumbers.

Since the idea was first discussed, Ngarluma woman Dolly Samson has been active in helping establish the garden.

"It's good for community to have the garden. They know they have a place where they can go and enjoy food and grow whatever they want to grow," Ms Samson said.

"It's important for everyone to know that we are growing food for our community to share."

Keith Weston, managing director of food and facilities management company Sodexo Australia, said he was thrilled to see the community-led initiative come to life in Roebourne.

He said its concept stands as a symbol of women's empowerment, making it Sodexo's first joint initiative of its kind under this banner in Australia.

"Women play an essential role in the fight against hunger, especially in vulnerable communities," he said.

According to the WA Council of Social Service, Aboriginal households experience food insecurity at rates of up to 41 per cent over a 12-month period.

In northern WA (including the Pilbara), regional and remote households are 30 per cent more likely to experience food insecurity compared to urban households.

Chronic food insecurity leads families to choose more processed, less nutritious foods, resulting in higher obesity rates and creating negative impacts on employment, education, economic prospects, and mental health.

Stop Hunger is Sodexo's global non-profit network working towards a world without hunger. Initiated in the United States in 1996 by Sodexo employees, the movement has expanded to now operate in 58 countries, working hand in hand with over 330 NGOs with a belief that empowering women and younger generations was at the heart of the solutions for a better future.