Food drives coming soon
The annual donation drives to fill the region’s foodbank pantries are just around the corner, and come at a time of unprecedented demand for their support.
Waitara foodbank volunteer crews will hit the town’s streets on Sunday, December 4, from 1pm, while the Oakura and New Plymouth collections will take place on Monday, December 5, from 5.30pm.
The response from these foodbank drives represents the biggest influx of community donations for the year and will keep shelves stocked into 2023.
And if the need currently being seen by foodbank managers and volunteers is anything to go by, the boost in supplies will be critical.
Suzanne Smithers, who works three days a week to fund the Oakura foodbank, said the situation was the most dire it had been in the 17 years she had been involved. ‘‘It’s the worst I’ve ever seen.’’
Waitara Pātaka Kai manager Amy Olsen said the ‘‘rising cost of everything’’, including rent, petrol and groceries, was hitting people across the board.
‘‘We’re getting heaps of people who felt they’d never have to use a foodbank.’’
Sharon Wills, of New Plymouth’s foodbank, said there were still some people who did not realise they could access its services, including those who were in work.
‘‘Those are the people we need to tell: We are here.’’
Toilet paper, soap, coffee, spreads, dishwashing liquid and laundry powder were things foodbanks had to buy from their own funds, so Olsen said those items would be gratefully received during the drives.
Fruit, vegetables and meat were other staples, but as they could not be donated during the street runs, such supplies could be dropped to foodbanks during their opening hours.
Volunteers play a big role in the day-to-day operation of Taranaki’s foodbanks and they are also crucial to the annual drives. In Waitara, 14 groups will hit the streets, while 30 people will be at its West Quay base sorting donated supplies on the day. Twenty-two areas will be covered in New Plymouth and Bell Block, with each area assigned three trucks. Wills said about 450 volunteers took part in past street runs.
In Oakura, 20 volunteers will give Smithers a hand, including members of the local fire brigade.
Olsen asked people not to stress if they missed donating to the drive for any reason as they could drop items in to foodbanks during opening hours at any point.
And while Wills appreciated rising living costs affected everyone, she said if every person gave one item to the drive ‘‘it would make a big difference’’.
The Hāwera, Eltham and Stratford food drives will also take place on the evening of December 5.
Hāwera foodbank’s Barbara Hurcombe echoed her north Taranaki counterparts’ views on the surge in demand. ‘‘The need is very great at the moment.’’