There are limits on some items but people take what they need.
Rotorua's newest food store is like any other in the city.
Customers walk in, grab a trolley and peruse the aisles for all the fruit, vegetables, bread, milk, meat and snacks they need.
But there is one main difference; everything is free.
Set up and run by Rotorua Whakaora's Gina and Elmer Peiffer, the free food store is opening its doors at 57 Depot St today. The pair, who have been feeding the homeless and doing food distribution to the community for a number of years, hope to set up another four stores across Rotorua.
Elmer Peiffer said the store not only helped to reduce the amount of food going to the landfill, it also removed the stigma of asking for help.
"People will feel like they're in any other supermarket. There is no shame, people will take what they need and what they will use. When you give people food parcels, food may go to waste because they don't know what to make with certain items."
Rotorua Whakaora founders Elmer and Gina Peiffer are opening a free store for people to shop for food they will actually use. Photo / Andrew Warner
Peiffer said food was often the first expense cut when families ran into financial trouble.
"We just want to help people get the necessities. The demand for our services fluctuate but the trend has been incrementally upwards. We are seeing new faces at our community drop-offs, the other day we did distribution for 37 families and 14 of those were new.
"This store will allow us to reach more people. We expect to see between 50 and 100 families in the beginning and we expect that to grow in time."
The free food store will have a checkout window and a play area for children which will be supervised by volunteers while caregivers do their shopping.
The shelves will be restocked daily with stock donated from multiple sources.
There were restrictions for some items on how many a family may take, but otherwise, they could take as much as they need, he said.
Things like chocolate had a one per family limit due to low stocks but things like bread could be taken at freewill, he said.
There would be people on the floor able to monitor and help people with any questions.
The food was for "absolutely anyone who required it" and there was no process in coming down, he said.
Peiffer said the building was leased by a church group that wanted to get involved in food distribution.
"They knew of the work we do and didn't want to reinvent the wheel so they approached us, asking if we wanted to set up and run the store."
District councillor and social commentator Merepeka Raukawa-Tait said any additional support provided to struggling families was to be applauded.
"Gina and Elmer have been working in this area for a number of years and know the realities of families struggling to survive.
"However, I do know this is not a long-term solution and I think agencies and service providers should start to concentrate their efforts on helping vulnerable families with planning where and how they spend their precious dollars.
"Sadly rents are now so prohibitive that in reality there is little left over to cover daily living costs."
Rotorua Whakaora had received a lot of support and products from Palmerston North-based free food store Just Zilch that opened nine years ago.
Owner Rebecca Culver said they aimed to create a "movement" and wanted to support any community looking to open up a free food supermarket.
"This food would otherwise go to waste ... we'd rather anyone ate it than nobody ate it."
She said their mantra was "take what you need for the day and be mindful of others" and this helped people to think of others when picking up how much they needed.
They also had volunteers serving the food, which helped ensure fairness but also allowed people the privilege to be served by others, she said.
