Serving up support at City Mission
If you stop by Wellington City Mission’s headquarters on a weekday morning, chances are you’ll find it humming with people sharing a bite to eat.
The charity hosts four drop-in sessions from Monday to Thursday, where people in need can relax over a hot drink and find some food.
Providing a meal at these sessions will be easier now, because both the Wellington and Christchurch City Mission centres will be served up thousands of breakfasts in a new partnership with cereal giant Kellogg’s.
As well, the company will bulk out food parcels with its products.
Wellington City Missioner Murray Edridge said the mission’s ability to distribute food to people depended on the generosity of companies, like Kellogg’s, individuals and other organisations.
The mission deals with about 400 of Wellington’s most vulnerable residents every day, he said.
‘‘It is trying to serve people in the best way possible. That is both the hope and the challenge.’’
Through the partnership, Wellington City Mission will receive more than 11,500 servings of cereal over the next year, while the Christchurch centre will receive more than 46,000 cereal meals.
That would go a long way, Edridge said.
In addition to these two new partnerships, Kellogg’s is also continuing its support for the Auckland City Mission by supplying more than 172,000 servings.
Wellington City Mission serves roughly 23,000 meals a year at breakfast and lunch, ‘‘almost exclusively’’ from donations, Edridge said.
Kellogg’s New Zealand country manager Ben O’Brien said supplying the mission centres with cereal would be an ongoing project and they would look at adjusting the amount if there was more need.
‘‘We want the chance to educate people on the importance of eating breakfast and its nutritional value, particularly for kids at school. We hope that by taking this opportunity to lend a helping hand in our communities, we can provide the necessary support to the missions and all of the vital work that they do.’’
Kellogg’s support was part of its Breakfast For Better Days initiative. The global programme aims to provide 2.5 billion servings of cereal and snacks around the world by 2025.