Food pantry volunteers an inspiration for people in need
New Brighton Community Fridge and Pantry volunteer Carolyn Tauailoto Uili said demand for its service is on the increase, with about 80 to 100 people each day now lining up for food.
Monday and Friday are the busiest days.
'Sometimes they can be queued up right down to the corner,' she said.
A recent survey from the New Zealand Food Network, a not-for-profit organisation which distributes food to food banks across the country, found food hubs were providing support to more than 500,000 individuals a month between July and December 2024.
That is up from the previous number of 454,000 individuals for the previous six months.
The report also found a third of recipients had not sought food support before.
The food pantry has been operating for eight years on the grounds of St Faith's Church on Hawke St, expanding from two shelves to now incorporating two sheds, a fridge and an outdoor covered area.
Tauailoto Uili said because of high demand, a new rule was recently introduced requiring users to live within the greater New Brighton area.
'We still let them take food, but tell them next time they have to go to their local food bank. We had people coming from Hoon Hay,' she said.
The 67-year-old North New Brighton resident has been volunteering four days a week for the past six years. One of the reasons was to get to know people.
'It's better than sitting at home, it can be very isolating.'
She said they deal with people who have a lot of issues.
'Some people are positive, some aren't. You just take it on the chin. If someone's ranting and raving I'll just let them finish. In one ear and out the other.'
Volunteers might be the only people they talk to.
'We don't judge anyone, no matter what.'
Volunteer Cody Edge is one of the food pantry's success stories.
'I was homeless, an addict. Seeing these women and the work they do inspired me to give up my addictions."
He said he was grateful to Carolyn and the other volunteers for supporting him.
'She's like our mum. Being here is what gave me the reason to pull myself together, no excuses. I thought, 'they're doing it, why can't I?'."
Edge said the food pantry encourages the community to help each other.
Tauailoto Uili said there is good support from local businesses and regulars who drop off food, but they could always use more.
'One lady has an autistic son who loves to bake, so she'll bring some baking in every couple of weeks.'
One man regularly drops off a big stack of freshly cooked fried rice, and another who uses the service on Thursdays, offers free haircuts to other users.
She said people can choose the items they want, but there were limits.
'We're not here to fill their pantries, we're only here to give them enough to see them through the day.'
Users can choose a couple of items from the grocery shelves, three fridge items such as milk, cheese, eggs or meat and then help themselves to vegetables.
'They can only come once a day, although some do try.'
She said the older-type houses replaced by a number of townhouse complexes in New Brighton recently has resulted in more people queuing for their service.
'From what I hear, they're paying such high rents and can't afford it. They're thrown out and come to us.'
Tauailoto Uili said she plans to keep volunteering.
'As long as I'm needed. We have an 80-year-old volunteer, so I have a way to go.'
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