Hawke’s Bay’s Mangaroa Marae food hub says it now finds itself turning away new families in need.
CEO of the Mangaroa Marae Pare Morrell said the hub supported 400 families a month from as far north as Wairoa to as far south as Pōrangahau.
“For me it’s not enough because I know there are four times that amount that is needed.”
She said they operate weekly out of Bridge Pa Chapel and school carparks, as they don’t have their own facility.
“We actually sometimes run it out of our own pockets.”
She said they received up to three deliveries a week and a “drop” could include a pallet of milk powder, Weet-Bix, vegetables, fruit and noodles.
Since starting in 2016, the hub has taken on many forms of family food assistance that started with the kōhanga reo.
She said tamariki were bringing unhealthy food that lacked nutrition and that, coupled with the amount of plastic waste that came in via the lunch boxes, was “filling up our dumpsters and filling up our landfill”.
“We thought, we can’t be doing this.”
The food hub adapted further to meet the Bridge Pa community’s needs, and in 2018 Morrell said they recognised a need for more food support but noticed they were struggling with the amount of supplies they had access to.
“I was tapping into the local orchardists and local gardeners.”
In 2020, during the Covid pandemic, the food hub gained support from the New Zealand Food Network, which Morrell said now supplies 80% of their stock. They were impacted again when Cyclone Gabrielle destroyed food crops.
There had been a “huge increase in the new recipients”, which was attributed to the rising cost of living.
“It’s pretty sad when I get the new ones coming in - sometimes I am able to give to them, but most times I’m not, I haven’t got anything to give to them.”
She said food hubs needed to become sustainable and produce their own vegetables and fruit.
“We just have to make it work.”
Latest findings from the New Zealand Food Network (NZFN), Aotearoa’s largest “for-purpose” surplus food distributor, reveal that its recipient Food Hubs are now feeding over half a million people per month, while struggling with the same amount of stock levels.
The latest data from July to December 2024 showed the NZFN provided food to over 500,000 individuals each month through its partner Food Hubs, an increase from approximately 454,000 in the previous survey covering January to June 2024.
NZFN CEO Gavin Findlay said the findings highlight something they have been hearing anecdotally for months.
“The need for food support is climbing exponentially and more Kiwi families are turning to support services as financial strain means making some really difficult sacrifices.”
Mirroring this socio-economic landscape, the most frequently reported reasons for people seeking assistance from Food Hubs have remained consistent, with the rising cost of living as the most stated reason (93%) followed by low household / individual income due to low-paying jobs (67%), unemployment (59%), and unexpected bills or expenses (51%).
Michaela Gower joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2023 and is based out of the Hastings newsroom. She covers Dannevirke and Hawke’s Bay news and loves sharing stories about farming and rural communities.
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