Beneficiaries offered meal kits
My Food Bag-supplied parcels may be a better deal for beneficiaries than standard food grants, the Ministry of Social Development says.
It is running a trial in which a Bargain Box-style kit, supplied and delivered by My Food Bag, is offered to some Auckland households applying for emergency food grants.
They can choose whether they want the bag or a grant from which to buy their own food.
While Bargain Boxes normally retail at $95 for three meals for a family of four, the kits for beneficiaries contain food for three meals a day for a week, and increase to match the number of people receiving them.
They are estimated to be worth $200 to $300, depending on the size of the household.
Hardship grants for food put on to a ministry payment card are generally proportionate to the number of days remaining until a person’s next benefit payment.
The number of grants for hardship assistance has increased over the past five years. There were 573,588 grants made in the September 2019 quarter, more than double the number in the September 2014 quarter.
To buy food was the most common reason for needing assistance, although, in dollar terms, more money was handed out for emergency housing.
Viv Rickard, deputy chief executive of service delivery at the Ministry of Social Development, said it was hard for people without access to transport or supermarkets to find nutritious and affordable food. Having a kit delivered could overcome that problem. ‘‘To offer those families another choice, we are doing a voluntary trial of an optional bargain box of basic food for all meals and recipes for a family for seven days. We always expected the box will work for some wha¯nau and not for others. We are trying something new ... and continue to welcome feedback.’’
Up to 1000 kits will be delivered to families who choose them. ‘‘The trial will be wrapping up early next year and we will be reviewing feedback then.
‘‘We are not committed at this stage to wider implementation,’’ Rickard said.
Researcher Rebekah Graham said the intentions of the trial were good. But she said many people who were surviving on low incomes were also concerned about things such as the power needed to cook the meals.
‘‘Food is a deeply personal thing … it feels like another way to avoid giving people money.’’
Graham said people on a benefit were usually good at making money stretch and understood how to efficiently use the food they had to feed their families.
‘‘Food is a deeply personal thing … it feels like another way to avoid giving people money.’’
Researcher Rebekah Graham