South Auckland foodbank burglary: Woman charged after food stolen from Dave Letele's organisation

Police have arrested a 20-year-old woman following a burglary at a South Auckland foodbank run by Dave "Buttabean" Letele.

A police spokesperson said they were notified of a burglary at a foodbank on Hobill Ave around 4.40pm on Sunday.

A staff member arrived at the scene and found the premises had been broken into and a number of boxes containing food had been taken.

The woman will appear in the Manukau District Court today, charged with burglary.

Police found stolen food items at the time of her arrest. Police could not rule out further arrests.

Letele, well-known for his free boot camps and motivational programmes, said he was glad the alleged offender had been caught.

"It's just sad that they've even done it. From what I heard from police, is that they [the alleged burglars] were selling it [the food]."

"If they were stealing to eat I didn't want them going to jail. I'd have wanted them to come and do an employment or youth programme and be around positive people."

Letele hoped the offender's quick capture would remind people they could be caught for these crimes.

"People need to know they can't do this. I've never heard of people being caught for burglary, but people need to see they got caught in two days."

Letele revealed during a video posted to Facebook on Sunday afternoon that the food service in Manukau had been robbed.

"If you steal food you must've needed it," Letele said, "but the crazy thing is that if you had asked us, we would've given it to you."

Letele said it seemed the offenders knew what they were doing and where everything was, so he hoped it was not someone they had helped in the past.

"It's so sad that this has happened, who steals from a foodbank?" Letele asked.

Letele said the food was mostly donated or purchased using the organisation's own funds, so the attack felt extremely personal.

Letele also said that the thieves had cost families the opportunity to eat this week.

"I hope you understand that this costs us, there are families that won't be able to eat this week because of you," Letele said.

During the video, Letele walks through the clearly ransacked foodbank and pointed out in dismay a near-empty freezer which he said had previously been full.

"I just feel down, man I just can't believe this, I'm not even pissed, I'm just sad," he said.

Among the items stolen were frozen chicken, frozen mince, butter and tomatoes.

Thankfully there was no major damage to the building itself, he said.

He also spoke directly to the police during the video, criticising their priorities and lack of quick action.

"I saw five police cars issuing speeding tickets, which, okay of course, but you can't come here and take fingerprints? Or come and see us? We are a pretty important part of the community with what we are doing here."