Data released in May suggests 485,000 Kiwis need food support every month.
Helen Robinson is the Auckland City Missioner.
OPINION
In the past year, Auckland City Mission – Te Tāpui Atawhai and our partners helped New Zealand families in serious need with approximately 50,000 boxes of food, with even higher levels in recent years during the height of the Covid pandemic
Amounting to about 2.5 million meals, this has enabled families to stay well, participate in their communities and get their kids to school. But most of this support is now set to come to an abrupt stop unless a recent Government funding cut is reviewed.
And as Auckland City Missioner – Manutaki, my team and I are joining with other food providers in asking the Government to urgently think again.
If the Government declines, the Mission will have to cut food boxes by 30,000 annually. That equals a devastating 27,000 fewer meals every week for families relying on us for basic nutritional needs.
What has brought us to this point is a Budget decision to end annual Ministry of Social Development support, introduced during the Covid pandemic.
I accept the pandemic has ended. But, as reflected in continued government support up to last year, the need has not gone away. A need that the Mission is well-versed and effective in responding to.
Through our public fundraising efforts we continue to purchase and distribute food, and offer psychosocial supports to those in greatest need. However, like many of our partners in the food space, insufficient government investment now means that we are being forced to turn people away.
The Mission needs government support of $1.5m a year to help provide food to those who need it most in Tāmaki Makaurau. As a country, I estimate we need in the region of $60m over two years to enable adequate provision of food for those needing support. That funding will enable organisations like the Mission to meet people’s immediate needs while planning for a more food-secure future.
The claim has been made that alternative support is available from the New Zealand Food Network and MSD hardship grants. These services, which currently exist, only meet a small part of the need. Therefore, neither is a realistic answer.
The complex problem of food insecurity requires investment in a whole-of-community approach to lift our collective response to the need at scale. The inadequate response to the level of need is an issue I first raised with the current Government in November 2023.
Since then we have kept talking. It was distressing to discover they cut funding in the Budget. I am committed to continuing dialogue and will keep working with the Government on this issue, but inaction is not a solution.
The need is urgent, and the consequences are serious.
Food security is a complex issue, with one in five New Zealanders not having enough food for health and wellbeing needs. The causes include levels of wages and benefits, housing supply and rental costs, unequal education opportunities and rising food and utilities bills.
Auckland City Mission provided food for 2.5 million meals in the past year.
The Public Health Advisory Committee has reported concerns that food insecurity is drifting up to middle incomes. The consequences are far-reaching. Children are at risk of poorer health and don’t learn as well, sometimes experiencing a four-year achievement lag.
Mental health suffers, relationships strain. With this funding removed, families who rely on food parcels today won’t be able to pay the doctor’s bill tomorrow. Broader social costs will come back to us all.
Letting all of this linger for a relatively small and ultimately illusory saving is incredibly short-sighted.
My dream is for a country where everyone can readily get the food they need. That this remains a dream angers me every day.
I am hungry for change. All New Zealanders would agree no one should be left to worry about where their next meal is coming from.
The problem cannot simply be wished away. Since making this call, the Mission has been joined by many organisations and individuals who are lending their voice for change. We are delighted to have their support.
As a country, we need to invest in the wellbeing and future of our nation. That takes all of us.
For this reason, I am seeking your voice in calling on the Government to reverse this ill-considered cut. We must act now to prevent real hardship and real social harm and to ensure that everyone has the most basic of human rights – the right to food.
