Reporter Aleyna Martinez volunteers at the Salvation Army's foodbank.
Reporter Aleyna Martinez volunteers at the Salvation Army's foodbank.
Journalist Aleyna Martinez volunteers at the Salvation Army’s new foodbank supermarket as part of the Rotorua Daily Post Christmas appeal and finds that helping others is rewarding.
A mother is in the middle of the Rotorua Salvation Army’s new choice-model supermarket and is figuring out how to feed her kids and husband until their next payday.
She’s allowed 90 points and I watch as she picks up tuna, cereal, noodles, UHT milk and powdered milk. As she goes, I add up what she has spent while she works out what she can afford next.
She puts the UHT milk back on the shelf. It’s powdered milk for the family this week.
”My kids don’t really like it, but this week it will have to do,” she tells me.
Next are cookies - they’re worth five points. Crackers are cheaper so she puts the cookies back. As she works her way through the mini supermarket, I tell her how many points she has left.
It’s been a tough week. She’s here because she spent all her pay on school uniforms.
As of December 16, the foodbank has given food support to 2624 people.
During my time in the supermarket, I helped tally points and shopped with four families.
For many people who end up here, it boils down to a choice between paying for food or getting a warrant of fitness for their car.
Learning about Rotorua’s manaakitanga network
The Rotorua Post Christmas Appeal raised more than $94,000 for the Salvation Army foodbank last year and that kept the organisation going until February.
In May, the foodbank changed from giving out food parcels to a choice-model supermarket where clients are given points based on their needs and use those points to choose their groceries.
The organisation’s well-being team assesses people’s needs when they arrive at reception. Clients then go through to the supermarket and make their choices.
It’s clear to me that this empowers them. Kai co-ordinator Tracey Ball says they are proud to offer prayer “but as well, a practical solution for whānau”.
The rescue kai circuit
Later in the day, I am with Ball and volunteer Te Omeka Tahana in the Salvation Army service van and heading out to pick up rescue kai from cafes and other businesses in Rotorua.
They show me how rescue kai is shared throughout the city, and how the art of networking and manaakitanga can bring people together during tough times.
Tahana has been a volunteer for two years. Back at the supermarket, she shows me how they bag up fresh fruit and vegetables that have been donated.
Offering clients fresh vegetables and fruit at the supermarket is a highlight for Tahana, who says “it’s too expensive right now, to eat healthy.”
Ball says the rescue kai circuit has been set up to operate in collaboration with other organisations such as Feeding Rotorua and Love Soup.
Tracey Ball and Aleyna Martinez during the Rotorua Christmas Appeal at the Salvation Army.
On the rescue kai circuit, Ball and Tahana tell me that some days there is nothing to pick up, so they have to be adaptable by rationing out what’s on shelves and making sure there are always options.
“There’s aroha down here that you don’t see really anywhere else in the country, I don’t think,” says Ball.
“Māori have this collective approach that is about bringing everyone together, no one gets left behind.”
We talk about how the role of a mum working in the community is one of the hardest and most overlooked and undervalued jobs. Ball and Tahana agree it takes connection, insight and a lot of care to do their roles.
Community ministries manager Darnielle Hoods says people who need help are welcome to ask for it at the Salvation Army - even if they are working.
There is no judgment.
As I pack up, ready to head back to the newsroom, my takeaway is that working together, even when you’re dealing with confronting and difficult times with others, is the key to helping others.
Volunteering is rewarding and has encouraged me to stay open to new ideas, be adaptable and pray during these holidays.
Aleyna Martinez is a multimedia journalist based in the Bay of Plenty. She moved to the region in 2024 and has previously reported in Wairarapa and at Pacific Media Network.
