My Account
More than $70,000 has already been raised for Matakana School from sales of The Village Table – Recipes and Stories from Matakana, the cookbook compiled and published by a group of volunteer parents in September last year.
The 384-page book of recipes, stories, profiles and photography from throughout the region has proved a huge hit with locals and visitors alike, with around 3000 copies being sold to date.
In one outlet, Matakana Village Books, The Village Table was the shop’s best-selling book in
December, ousting Michelle Obama’s memoir Becoming into second place, and it was also the store’s second best-selling title for the whole of 2018, despite it only being launched at the end of September.
Board of Trustees member Melita Campbell says the response has been amazing and, with a few hundred copies still left to sell, she is hoping the total raised will climb even higher.
“It’s a huge amount of money,” she says. “We’re over $70,000 net profit at the moment, which is fantastic.”
When the cookbook idea was first mooted three years ago, it was hoped money raised could fund an all-weather cover for the school courts. However, with that costing upwards of $350,000 and little hope of accessing top-up funding grants, the idea now is to install shading over the main playground.
“We’re thinking at the moment of extending a shaded area out from the hall deck, so we’d be able to see the benefit from it now and not have to wait for what would otherwise be a three to five-year project,” Melita says.
“If we can extend the shade, that becomes a central shaded area to play in and to hold outdoor assemblies where we can use the deck as the stage.”
The board is also considering installing air conditioning in the school hall.
The Village Table costs $49 and is available from Matakana Village Books, Matakana Four Square, New World, Paper Plus, Matakana Butchery, Charlie’s Gelato, Green With Envy, The Vivian, Plume Café and Restaurant, Sawmill Brewery, Jin Jin, Mooi Mooi, Omaha Living and Point Wells General Store, or online at thevillagetable.co.nz
