The Big Feed: Dairy farmer hitchhiking from Auckland to Christchurch to raise meals for food banks

North Waikato dairy farmer Colin Hickey with daughter Mikayla. Next week she will blow him a kiss goodbye as he sets off on his hitchhike from Auckland to Christchurch for The Big Feed rural telethon. Photo / Meat the Need

A North Waikato dairy farmer will be thumbing his way from Auckland to Christchurch next week to raise awareness of The Big Feed live rural telethon and drive donations for food banks nationwide.

Colin Hickey, who’s dubbed his journey “The Hickey Tour”, is planning the hitchhike as part of The Big Feed, which takes place on Thursday, December 14.

The Meat the Need and Feed Out fundraising drive aims to raise as many mince and milk meals as possible for more than 110 food banks nationwide.

“I’m a bit nervous about how the journey is going to go, but making it work is all part of the fun,” he said.

An ambassador for the farmer-led charity, Hickey said the idea for the tour first came about during last year’s telethon.

“I decided I wanted to be in Christchurch this year and with the tight dairy market we made a bit of a joke about having to hitchhike and it’s actually morphed into a reality,” he laughed.

The Hickey Tour will kick off before 4am with plans to catch rides from Auckland to Wellington while stopping at some landmarks along the way, then fly over the Cook Strait to hitch to Christchurch.

“I’m expecting my thumb will be pretty tired by then but I’ll keep going once I land in Christchurch to get to Lincoln.”

He said The Hickey Tour had no contingency plan.

“We’ve just got to do it and get to Christchurch in time before the telethon wraps up.”

Hickey hoped people would turn up and be part of the cause.

“So, if you’re travelling that day, please help me out,” he laughed.

As well as sticking his thumb out, HIckey is also on the hunt for people who could help transport him through the different legs of his journey and prearrange it so he’s not left high and dry.

Dairy farmer Colin Hickey will be stopping at landmarks throughout The Hickey Tour, hitchhiking from Auckland to Christchurch.

Hickey came on board as a Champion of Meat the Need two and a half years ago.

As a dairy farmer milking 400 cows, Hickey donates milk as well as his time.

“I believe that every New Zealander should have access to the best protein in the world, which is what we produce, and it’s good to know that through this charity they can.

“We all know what protein does to a body and I just have a belief that no one should be hungry.”

He’s also a staunch supporter of the concept that 100 per cent of what is donated through Meat the Need and Feed Out goes to food banks.

“It’s also so bloody easy to donate milk. All you have to do is go online, say how much you want to do and it’s done.”

Hickey was aware of how financially tough times were on-farm right now but he firmly believed working together made a difference.

“It’s not the size of the donation, it’s the amount of people that can donate that makes a difference to what we can collectively achieve.

“If everyone gave a little bit of what we produced, we would all make a massive difference to hunger in New Zealand.”

He’d seen first-hand the high demand for food support in New Zealand during last year’s Big Feed telethon.

What he thought was a month’s supply of boxes was distributed in a day.

“You don’t sort of realise the destitution some people are living in and the absolute need for such a service.”

Anyone interested in giving Hickey a lift on his journey can message Meat the Need’s Facebook page.

More about The Big Feed

• The Big Feed live rural telethon kicks off on Thursday, December 14 and runs for 14 hours from 6am.
• It is hosted by TV personality Matt Chisholm, former boxer Dave Letele, and Meat the Need co-founder and Federated Farmers president Wayne Langford.
• Donations of livestock, milk, virtual animals or funds can be made online at meattheneed.org as part of the Big Feed now.
• Donations can also be made by texting “feed” to 3493 to automatically give $3 now, or by calling 0800 632 884 on the day.
• The Big Feed will be streaming live on Facebook, YouTube, Vimeo and at meattheneed.org.
• One hundred per cent of all donations will be turned into mince and milk meals for food banks nationwide.