Demand has never been higher at the Tauranga Community Foodbank.
The Tauranga Community Foodbank store is celebrating its first anniversary this week.
The store, located inside its Fraser St warehouse, is designed to look and feel like a corner store, where customers pay for items in points, use trolleys and get their items scanned at the checkout.
This comes as the Bay of Plenty Times’ Christmas Appeal enters its second week. The appeal runs over six weeks, with the goal of raising food and money for the foodbank in the lead-up to Christmas.
Foodbank manager Nicki Goodwin said it gives clients “control and ownership” over what they eat each week.
The food items offered in-store are the same as the foodbank parcels, with “just a few more choices”.
The foodbank store cost $14,000 to build.
A point-based system is used for the store, but fruit, vegetables, sanitary items, nappies, baby wipes and teddy bears are free, so clients can take as much as they need.
A single person can use up to 60 points on food products such as milk (two points), a jar of peanut butter (two points) or canned food (one point).
Goodwin said it’s “heartbreaking” to see the foodbank customers struggling.
“We have people who don’t know what their outcome is going to be because their income doesn’t even cover rent.
“As soon as you get behind on anything like mortgage or rent, it takes a long time to pay that back to get back on top of things.”
Lisa Stewart, a volunteer at the foodbank, said, “I think it fills a different need in the community.”
She said most people come out with a full trolley of food and a free bag of greens.
Financial mentor Shirley McCombe said the store was “mana-enhancing”, as it allows for “control over the client’s life and decisions”.
McCombe’s role is to refer certain foodbank clients to the store and support them with their financial planning.
“We often refer clients with certain dietary requirements so they have that opportunity to choose food for themselves.”
But McCombe said it was more than that, with clients given the freedom to access the food that’s best for their lives.
“They know the way they live their lives, they know what their kids like to eat, and it’s just a philosophically better way for people to go and choose the things they want that meet the needs of themselves and their family.”
McCombe said often, clients have “a degree of discomfort and embarrassment” when asking for help.
“But food’s the absolute essential, and people don’t want to see their kids go hungry.
“It’s hard sometimes when you realise, ‘Wow, we’ve done everything we can, but people are still struggling’. But when you make progress, it’s a whole different feeling.
