Food service aims to help recovery

A LOCALLY developed service aimed at aiding struggling businesses and providing residents with takeaway food will be launched today in Invercargill.

Habitat for Humanity Invercargill has devised a food ordering and delivery system for Alert Level 3 with the intention of helping local food businesses get back on their feet.

General manager Paul Searancke said the service, called Invercargill Eats, was not for making any ‘‘great profit’’.

‘‘One of the key things about it is that we’re doing it to support other people in our community . . . we don’t want businesses and the people they employ disappearing.’’

Any excess income would go to supporting Habitat for Humanity Invercargill in the work it did, he said.

‘‘For Southlanders, it’s just something that’s done. We look for local solutions for local problems, and we work together locally.’’

Invercargill Eats is an online platform which would enable food businesses to sell goods through a noncontact ordering, payment and delivery system. The distribution options are click and collect or pickup and delivery.

Mr Searancke said Habitat for Humanity Invercargill would charge low or no fees.

“We’re not aiming to make any great profit out of this, just to pay our staff and costs . . . but people can use the service knowing that any profit is going to help some of the most vulnerable people in our community.’’

It took four weeks for Habitat’s web developer, Hunt Jeong, to set up the online service.

It was originally planned to deliver coffees from the charity’s ReUsery Store for those involved in the CBD redevelopment.

Mr Searancke said he hoped to see an increase in businesses joining the website and was hiring drivers for the service. to keep up with demand.

Any Invercargill businesses wanting to join or know more can visit www.invercargilleats.co.nz