Food parcel need skyrockets

A 32-year high for inflation and the pandemic have meant the number of South Canterbury households needing the support of foodbanks and emergency food parcels has skyrocketed, with one organisation hiring additional staff to help with the uptake.

Foodbank Canterbury, which collects food from supermarkets and distributes to charities which run their own foodbanks, has distributed the equivalent of 3.9 million more meals between its last non-Covid year compared to its last financial year ending March 31, 2022.

Chief executive officer John Milligan said the need is so great that it ‘‘cannot be defined to any particular socio-economic group’’ and that people who had never put their hands up before were now needing help.

‘‘There is no solution at the moment, we just have to ride through this inflation period,’’ Milligan said.

During the 2019 calendar year, the organisation distributed the equivalent of 1.8m meals; for its last financial year, from April 1, 2021, to March 31, 2022, this number increased to 5.7m.

Milligan said while the pandemic had had a major impact, this was not the only reason for the increased demand as 2022 figures have kept climbing.

For the first six months of 2022, demand increased by 30% from what it was in the January-June period of 2021.

‘‘It’s not just part of the Covid situation, but it’s due to inflation as well.’’

Family Works South Canterbury has seen demand for emergency food parcels double since 2019.

Chief executive Carolyn Cooper said, ‘‘since Covid hit, it’s [demand] just been going up and up’’.

For the first 15 days of July Family Works distributed 62 emergency food parcels; in July 2019 67 were given out for the month.

Those figures also show the biggest change could be seen in the month of June. In 2019 67 parcels were distributed, jumping to 159 in 2020, and the numbers have remained steady for the month with 129 in 2021, and 131 in 2022.

Cooper said a dramatic increase in fuel prices was making it harder for families to afford their groceries.

It used to cost her about $100 to fill her car and ‘‘now it’s $140 to fill your car on a good day’’.

‘‘That’s the difference between your milk and bread and other necessities,’’ Cooper said.

Presbyterian Support South Canterbury received funding five months ago from the Ministry of Social Development as part of its Covid-19 Support Fund and through this, the organisation has been able to support an additional 100 families with food.

She urged anyone who needed support relating to Covid-19 to contact the organisation.

Community Link Waimate began distributing food parcels after high demand in the district called for it.

‘‘People are choosing between having food on the table, putting a roof over their head or turning the power on,’’ operations manager Jakki Guilford said.

The team started handing out food parcels in March, as a way to get groceries to self-isolating households, she said.

‘‘We found that supporting people with Covid, it wasn’t just self-isolation that was the problem, there were other deeper issues,’’ Guilford said.

Providing parcels could ‘‘help to take the pressure off’’, and one staff member had been hired, with another being sought to keep up with demand, she said.

Anglican Care social justice advocate Ruth Swale said ‘‘there is all these different strands’’ to an individual’s difficult living situation.

Although they don’t provide food parcels, in her role providing one-onone support to members of the community, Swale said it can be difficult for people to access support or improve their circumstances, due to their already stressful living situation.

‘‘Sometimes people go for an interview for a place for housing opportunities, and they don’t present well, because they’re stressed, and they’re angry and thinking ‘just give me a place’,’’ Swale said.

‘‘You can see where they’re coming from, they live in these sometimes really substandard housing, and it’s affecting them.

‘‘We sometimes try to help them not to be so stressed, because then they can self-sabotage.’’

Swale also wanted the public to know the organisation provides free consultation every second Thursday for those needing legal advice.

‘‘It’s for any issues, everything from employment, tenancy or relationship breakdown,’’ Swale said.

Salvation Army Timaru envoy Lynda Bright noticed parcel requests were coming from outside the charity’s usual demographic which was causing numbers to increase.

‘‘It’s not just low socio-economic, it’s that middle bracket who are struggling now.’’

Bright found food is often the first thing to go because ‘‘it’s the only thing they’ve got wiggle room on’’, but also knew of people not heating their homes this winter, due to the price of power.

The organisation was providing free firewood to these homes to help out, emphasising to people ‘‘don’t struggle, let us help’’.

Salvation Army also uses an anonymous system when handing out the food parcels, so people concerned about their privacy did not have to worry.