A history of food and nutrition science [ref 1] provides critical context for interpreting current knowledge, practice, research and policy related to human health. In Australia, this history spans from tens of thousands of years of Indigenous food hunting and gathering to colonial legacies, wartime food and nutrition interventions, and the professionalization of most of its separate aspects. Yet, there has been no single consolidated resource that facilitates the tracing of this development across disciplines and sectors. This project aims to develop a bibliographic database of food, cookery, nutrition, and dietetics in Australia, New Zealand, and neighbouring regions, with the goal of supporting human health through scholarship, research, education, translation and practice. The work aligns with the Nourishing Australia: A Decadal Plan for the Science of Nutrition [ref 2], which calls for stronger knowledge integration and the preservation of Australia’s nutrition heritage. It also responds to priorities identified in the 2024 implementation roadmap, including the need for shared infrastructure, improved accessibility of nutrition knowledge, and a stronger historical and cultural context for contemporary science and policy [ref 3]. The focus is on documenting publications of food and nutrition and the development of the field. Phase One has been completed and comprises some 6000 entries (pre-history to 1988 and beyond) including books, monographs, government and other reports, manuscripts, cookery books, photographs, posters and ephemera. These materials include Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Antarctica, and our nearest Oceanic islands such as Fiji, Timor, Nauru, and Vanuatu. Entries are indexed with detailed keywords (e.g. food, food supplies, cookery, food service, nutritional assessment, nutrients, dietary guidelines, public health and chronic disease, etc.), and can be searched for bibliographic data and hard copy availability at the State Library of Victoria, for example: https://www.slv.vic.gov.au/search-discover: Dr Beverley Wood collection. A few entries of significant international references have also been included. This curated collection contributes to national efforts to build enduring, inclusive, and historically literate food and nutrition reference and resource material. Future project phases are well advanced and will include relevant agriculture, climate change and environmental health. The phases of the decadal plan will be supported, enabling practitioners, educators, researchers, and policy-makers to connect the past and present in shaping sustainable, culturally relevant food and nutrition systems and human health.