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Once again the local Foodbank faces poor supplies of the basics at Christmas.
Last year at the same time the Hibiscus Coast Community House in Orewa, which runs the Foodbank, also faced empty shelves and manager Christine Alesbury says she hopes it will not become a perennial end-of-year problem.
She says it is clearly caused by demand for food parcels outstripping donations.
The foodbank is stocked by public donations, including damaged stock from New World supermarket in Orewa, pies from Dad’s Pies, donations from churches and items from the wider public. The Community House also pays for some food from the money it raises in its second hand store.
Christine says while the Foodbank has good supplies of some items, such as rice, soy and condensed milk, they are desperately low of other staples (see list below), making it difficult to assemble complete food parcels.
“Certain items will be all gone once we’ve made up around 10 parcels,” Christine says. “I’m confident that Christmas treat items will begin to flow in, in due course, but even the Christmas food parcels contain a generous serving of basic items. We’re not just feeding the families on Christmas Day,” Christine says.
Those supplies are particularly critical to see families through, bearing in mind that the Foodbank closes from December 19 until January 9.
Christine says although demand fluctuates from month to month, the numbers of parcels volunteers are providing is significantly up, year on year.
By comparison, last year in August, 27 food parcels were made up; this year in the same month, it was 51. Last September they provided 36 parcels and this September it was 58.
As yet it is not known how many Christmas food parcels will be called for, but last year it was a record 91.
Any items, which Christine says would be very gratefully received, can be dropped into the big donation box at Kiwi Bank in Orewa or at the Community House in Western Reserve, Orewa.
