Food to warm the heart
Grabbing a snack from a cafe, dinner at a restaurant, or drink at a bar is a daily occurrence for some. For others, their next meal is unknown and often out of reach. Here’s a handful of local organisations serving more than just food and drink – they serve our vulnerable community, too.
Fill Their Lunchbox filltheirlunchbox.co.nz
Buy your lunch, provide two for children who would otherwise go without. Simple, altruistic and effective. Supporting 12 local schools, Fill Their Lunchbox has already supplied more than 41,000 lunches for the lunchless with their buy-one, give-two model.
The menu is different every week, and when placing orders before 5pm Friday for the week ahead, buyers will receive their own box of changing menu items, which include sandwiches, salads and delicious baked treats.
Founder Ben Atkinson says the initiative has lowered truancy rates and increased focus in class for children, as well as providing vocational training for men at Odyssey House where the lunches are made. These lunches are for good and are filled with the goods. Activated charcoal buns, pulled pork fillings, and macarons from Good Honest Products are just some of the offerings.
Cultivate Christchurch cultivate.org.nz
With an aim to support the community by providing work experience and teaching skills to young people in need in Canterbury, Cultivate Christchurch shows how meaningful urban farming can be.
The local urban farms supply top produce and an awardwinning internship programme, cleverly funded by the very goods they grow. Often picked in the morning and served in the afternoon, the freshness and flavour is remarkable – and a favourite of local cafes and restaurants.
The philosophy of ‘‘local food for local good’’ runs through Cultivate Christchurch’s veins, where the positive working environment not only earns students NCEA credits and finds interns employment, but helps the city to turn its waste into compost. Using organic and permaculture methods, the organisation is helping make a big difference in the Garden City and the community, from the ground up.
27 Seconds 27seconds.co.nz
In a world where businesses are driven by the bottom line, this Canterbury operation donates 100 per cent of its profits to the world’s most vulnerable citizens.
Established to combat slavery and human trafficking – a cruel underworld that claims a new victim every 27 seconds – this local charity invites wine lovers to be part of the solution.
Selling sauvignon blanc, pinot noir, rose and riesling by Terrace Edge and Greystone wines, 27 Seconds gives all the profits to Hagar, a charity that provides trauma care, education, and economic empowerment to survivors of slavery.
Co-founder Alanna Chapman says coming face to face with modern-day slavery while travelling abroad was confronting. ‘‘We became acutely aware that through no choice of our own we lead privileged lives, and because of that, we feel we should give back.
‘‘We believe that our actions and choices in life can make life better for others, not only in our local communities but the global community too. We loved the idea of a semi everyday product, like wine, making a difference every time it’s purchased.’’ Talk about a guilt-free hangover!
❚ Discover more neat places around town at neatplaces.co.nz and download the free and offline Neat Places smartphone app.