Sara Kennedy says her aim is to provide at least 20 warm meals a day to help feed the bellies of those in need.
Sara Kennedy says her aim is to provide at least 20 warm meals a day to help feed the bellies of those in need.
The desire to feed the vulnerable has seen a Kaitāia woman start a food initiative, which now helps many “people in need” get a good night’s rest on a full belly.
Local Sara Kennedy’s venture 1 Meat and 3 Vege provides 20 home-cooked meals for free that are dropped off at the Pataka Kai in Bank St, Kaitāia, at 5pm every day.
“We have had scores of genuine individuals in need turn up and leave with a container of food in their hands and smile on their faces, since we started...,” said Kennedy.
She said all the meals were cooked by generous community members who took turns each day of the calendar to cook their version of comfort food.
The home cooks then pick up the foil containers from her workplace at Peekaboo Backyard Eatery in Kaitāia before dropping them off at the Pataka.
She recalled it was almost a year ago when the kid first appeared to pop into her workplace at Peekaboo with her puppy and often play at the nearby playground.
“Then I didn’t see her for a long time until a month ago when I was shopping in Farmers in Kaitāia. She looked worse for wear and asked me for money to buy food. I just stood there and did nothing.”
Kennedy said when she finally got hold of herself and proceeded to help, the girl had already left and out of sight.
Sara Kennedy thanks the Kaitaia community for coming forward and helping to contribute for a cause.
Several days later she read a social media post about a kid who had walked a good distance to a supermarket store to ask for food.
“The news just broke my heart. I felt ashamed since it was the same girl I didn’t help.”
Besides the “little girl”, Kennedy has had other hungry people, over the years, who have turned up at the back door of their restaurant and greeted her with the words, “Can you feed us... we haven’t eaten for a long time.”
“All of this motivated me further to do something about hunger and start 1 Meat 3 Vege which is named after the simple but nutritious homely meal I was given as a child.”
By the end of this month, her initiative would have served more than 400 containers of food in the Far North community.
“We hope we can continue to do this for months to come. And appreciate anyone who wants to give a hand or donate any food items.
Anyone interested in helping with this cause can reach out to Kennedy on Facebook.
Avneesh Vincent is the crime and emergency services reporter at the Advocate. He was previously at the Gisborne Herald as the arts and environment reporter and is passionate about covering stories that can make a difference. He joined NZME in July 2023.
