Latest news with #LeithfieldSchool
The Guardian
9 hours ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Butter madness: New Zealanders turn to churning as price of dairy staple soars
New Zealanders are driving cross-country for hours in pursuit of cheap butter while some are ordering it from Australia or even churning their own cream, as the country battles sky-high dairy prices. Despite dairy being the country's largest export industry, recent figures from Stats NZ show domestic butter prices surged 65% in the year to March, pushing the average price for 500g to $7.42 (£3.30) – that's up about $3 from this time last year. People have been queiung at Costco in Auckland to bulk buy its cheaper blocks, prompting the wholesaler to cap shoppers' purchases to 30 blocks per shopper. Kaleb Halverson – who has earned the nicknames 'Costco cowboy' and 'butter bandit' – has started a side-hustle driving the 10-hour round trip from Taranaki to Auckland to stock up on cheap butter for his community. Halverson, who started a Facebook page offering to deliver Costco goods to his region, was inundated with requests for butter. 'Demand was crazy – there were quite a few people wanting five to 10 packs each,' he told news outlet Stuff. A Canterbury school recently used butter to fundraise, instead of the usual baked goods or chocolate. Leithfield School principal Rob Cavanagh told Stuff the response to the fundraiser had been 'pretty overwhelming', with 19,000 blocks sold. 'I wasn't quite aware of what a popular commodity butter is in this day and age.' Meanwhile, some people are using social media to teach others how to make their own butter, and bakeries across the country have reported making the tough choice to either increase their prices or face closure. Owner of Kayes Bakery based in Southland, Luella Penniall, said she was frustrated at having to import cheaper alternatives, despite living in a country that produces so much dairy produce. New Zealand is the world's top dairy exporter, producing a third of the world's dairy trade. The industry represents about $11.3bn or 3.2% of New Zealand's GDP, and plays a significant role in regional economies. Penniall uses an Australian broker to find the best priced butter of the right quality, which often results in half her butter order being shipped from Australia. Kayes Bakery uses roughly three tonnes of butter every two months. The business is 'surrounded by dairy farms' and Penniall would prefer to use New Zealand products but the cost can be prohibitive. 'Farmers deserve everything they get, they work hard, but somewhere in between it seems to be getting out of control.' Global supply problems and high demand for New Zealand's products are driving local prices higher, according to the chief executive of Infometrics, Brad Olsen. About 95% of New Zealand's dairy products are exported, which means the international market determines domestic prices. It is 'a double-edged sword', where high prices are good for the country's economy but tough for domestic shoppers, Olsen said. 'I'm not saying that at the moment its the right happy balance, but given that commodity prices … are going to be dictated by the international market, that is sort of how the game is played.'
RNZ News
29-05-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Canterbury school sells more than 10,000 blocks of butter in fundraising drive
File image. Photo: 123RF A primary school in Canterbury has turned to the buttery bullion instead of fundraising favourites like chocolate or cookies. Leithfield School Te Kura o Kowai, a primary school north of Christchurch has been selling 250 gram blocks of butter for $4. It's a bargain compared to some supermarket butter blocks that are more than $10 for 500 grams, depending on the brand. The school's principal Rob Cavanagh told Checkpoint the interest in the butter had been overwhelming over the past few weeks. "Our fundraising team and thought it was going to be a bit of a small earner, maybe bring in a few a few dollars and sell a few 100 blocks of butter. But we got that one completely wrong and it's been super popular." He said it started after a parent in the school's fundraising team came across the Westland dairy fundraising page. "On there was just an opportunity to sell some butter and they thought, hey, let's give it a go and hopefully we'll sell a few blocks and bring in a little bit of money." In total, the school has sold more than 10,000 blocks of butter. "It's turned into what we thought would be a minor operation into a rather large-scale logistical operation." Interest has come from as far as Hawke's Bay and the Bay of Plenty, from comments on their Facebook page. "[It's] well and truly out of the reach of our small team of volunteers in terms of the distribution here from school. It is a local thing for us, and we're pleased to know that there are lots of people in our local area that are taking up the opportunity and able to give a bit back to the school at the same time." From each block of butter sold, the school makes a dollar. The funds go into different aspects of the school, including subsidising some start of the year costs for families, he said. "We're bringing our stationery costs right down at the start of the year [and] we're able to help with the shortfall in costs for school camps. All of our camps happen in term 1 and we always have a bit of a shortfall when we come to taking the money from donations that come in and the board's operation funding. "We're purchasing new Kapa Haka uniforms for our senior Kapa haka group. We're sending some of our senior students on leadership opportunities and we're buying some resources for our new writing programme we're using this year as well." The school is selling butter until 5:00pm, on 30 May.
RNZ News
29-05-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Canterbury school sell blocks of butter as fundraiser
Leithfield School, Te Kura o Kowai, a primary school north of Christchuch has been selling 250 gram blocks for four bucks. It's a bargain compared to some supermarket butter blocks that are more than $10 for 500 grams depending on the brand. Principal Rob Cavanagh spoke to Lisa Owen.
