Essential business giving back to our community
By: Brenda McQuillan, Pūkenga Manaaki CAMHS - Whakatū (CAMHS Navigator - Nelson)
Nelson Community Food Bank Trust had been running for more than 20 years. We deliver food parcels to whanau experiencing hardship in the Nelson area. We are a partnership of six organisations, BUWT, Salvation Army, St Vincent de Paul – Nelson and Stoke, Te Piki Oranga and Whakatū Marae.
Since the lockdown came into effect we have been four times busier, the organisation's reach had expanded beyond central Nelson. We rely on the generosity of our community. The Food Bank is staffed by volunteers and funded by individuals, trusts and local businesses. The kai in our food parcels is designed to last a whanau or individual up to three days. We purchase 80% our ingredients, including meat and vegetables. We also include donated kai and grocery items. Below is an example of a parcel for a whanau of three.
Local businesses donate goods as well, we have received honey, potato chips, cheeses, treats, vegetables, and meats. Over the past year the NCFBT delivered approximately 108 parcels per month from requests from the partner organisations.
In a normal five-day week, Te Piki Oranga, Whakatu, would request between 3 – 5 parcels. The week 01 April to 08 April, NCFBT was only delivering three days per week, Te Piki Oranga requested 17 food parcels for 53 Whanau. Overall NCFBT food parcel requests have increased by 300%.
The NCFBT has also linked in with the Civil Defence Welfare Group, NCC and TDC, we have partnered with the DHB Te Oranga Alliance, delivering over 100 parcels to whanau at Franklyn Village.
We have also partnered, temporarily, with the Homelessness Sub-group to deliver food parcels to the Homeless whanau in temporary accommodation – we have been asked to supply up to 50 parcels per week. The Civil Defence Welfare Group have donated the use of the Trafalgar Park Pavilion temporarily as we have passed capacity at our current shared premises with Nelson Environment Centre.
Sturrock and Greenwood refrigeration have donated a walk-in freezer for us to use during the increased demand. One of the realisations I have come to, is that we will never return to our previous small size, we need to expand to include Richmond, and we need to look at inviting more partner organisations to join us.
The team behind this amazing mahi are our treasurer, Megan Familton, she is carrying out the coal face mahi, packing parcels, shopping for groceries and coordinating volunteer drivers to deliver the parcels. She has been ably assisted by our previous co-ordinator, Delwyn Donaldson. Behind the scenes we have our volunteer fundraising guru, Eddie Lewis, he is a funding application machine. We have another volunteer, Vince van Beek, he crunches all our numbers and manages our stats, his job is particularly challenging at this time. And I am the current chairperson, representing Te Piki Oranga.
