A choice-model supermarket allowed whānau the option to allocate points towards what they needed at the time. Photo / Andrew Warner
A choice-model supermarket allowed whānau the option to allocate points towards what they needed at the time. Photo / Andrew Warner
The six-week Rotorua Christmas appeal is supported by the Rotorua Daily Post and The Hits Rotorua 97.5FM.
As well as drop-off points at the Salvation Army and Rotorua Lakes Council offices, food donations can be made at can drives and fundraisers popping up around Rotorua.
A new way of providing food to Rotorua’s needy has empowered whānau, says the Salvation Army.
Ministries manager Darnielle Hoods says the restructure from the food parcel system to a choice-model supermarket came about because of an increased need in the community.
Launched in May the choice-model supermarket meant whānau were allocated a budget of “points” which were used in place of money and enabled them to have more choice in the food they could use.
Hoods said when the new system was introduced, people were pleasantly surprised.
“When whānau come in and are given points to choose kai from the supermarket, there is the sense of surprise, almost like, ‘I get to pick these things?’ and ‘I get to take this out?’ and there’s no exchange of money or anything like that.”
She noticed a change in people’s demeanour when they left the choice-model supermarket. Speaking about it brought her to tears.
“That is the very real reality of what some of our whānau here in Rotorua face every day. Sometimes people in the community might not see it, but we see it every day.”
A choice-model supermarket allowed whānau the option to allocate points towards what they needed at the time, whereas the pre-packed food parcel approach often left people with items they didn’t eat or didn’t know how to cook, Hoods said.
She said increased economic pressures in recent months forced some whānau to choose between paying for a warrant of fitness for their cars or groceries within one pay cycle, and for some paying for both was not possible.
The supermarket operated on a points system according to their need, and the size of their families, she said.
The organisation was proud to have the option for whānau to choose what they needed at a time when food insecurity was higher than before.
“They’re like, ‘I’ve got kai to feed my tamariki and there’s kai in the house tonight to cook a meal’, whereas yesterday they were wondering, ‘What are we gonna do?’
“It is a mana-enhancing practice but what it does, is it gives our whānau the choice to decide what it is that they want and what it is that they will use,” she said.
The Rotorua Daily Post Salvation Army Christmas appeal needs your help. Pictured is community ministries food security co-ordinator Tracey Ball. Photo / Andrew Warner
Behind the scenes at the supermarket
Tracey Ball has been the kai co-ordinator for about a year. She said their wellbeing team assess whānau needs, and try to see as many as they can each day.
The Rotorua Christmas Appeal started on November 9, which meant shelves over the holidays were easier to stock. Christmas holidays were a time when demand for their food services increased, Ball said.
“The months after the Christmas New Year period is when it will get low again.”
Last year, the six-week appeal raised a record $94,409.30 in food and cash donations. This year, they hoped a similar result could be achieved. If done, like last year, donations would get them through until about early February, Ball said.
Of late, more people in employment have presented to the food bank compared to previous years.
Co-ordinating kai required her to be adaptable, she said.
Salvation Army kai co-ordinator Tracey Ball and volunteer Te Omeka Tahana during pick-up and drop-offs of rescue kai. Photo / Aleyna Martinez
Volunteer Te Omeka Tahana said there were days when the charity couldn’t access staples like milk and bread, so finding solutions to fluctuating resources across Rotorua was part of the role.
“Somedays you could pick up heaps and some days you pick up nothing,” Tahana said.
“Rescue Kai” was also picked up weekly from Woolworths on Fenton St and Fairy Springs.
