Editorial: Lunch provider is a star

Tinaya Johnston is doing a huge service to the community.

Judging by some of the comments in response to one of our stories yesterday, some people find it hard to believe there are families doing it tough out there.

The story was about Rotorua mum Tinaya Johnston, who has started making school lunches for other people's kids who would otherwise go without.

For a minimal weekly fee to cover costs - $5 per child, plus $1 for additional siblings - she fills a daily lunch pack for each child.

"I just want to see kids going to school with enough good, healthy food so they can concentrate in class," she told our reporter.

No one made or even asked Ms Johnston do this - she saw kids in need and did something about it.

She's a local hero.

Thousands of people read our story in the paper, on our website and on the New Zealand Herald website. Hundreds of shares and comments followed.

This story touched a chord.

It goes without saying that some people wondered out loud where these kids' parents were in all this.

But the fact is that some local families are struggling.

What Ms Johnston has done is show that they don't have to do it alone.

And if she can feed a family's six children lunch for a week and only ask them for $10, she is certainly making a difference in their lives.

Economies of scale mean the more her services are in demand, the cheaper the exercise becomes.

The sad thing is, the more her services are in demand, the worse things clearly are for struggling families in our city.