May 01, 2024
Foodbank demand ramping up
Aotearoa’s largest not-for-profit food supply and distribution organisation says cost of living increases are driving people to foodbanks in ever greater numbers.
The Food Network takes surplus food donated by big companies, and supplies 65 charities about 30 tons of food a week.
Chief executive Gavin Findlay says the need for food help nearly doubled between 2022 and 2023.
A third of the people now using foodbanks had never done so before.
“This is not systemic. This is people falling into the conditions where putting food on the table is becoming discretionary and that is just not something that we should be experiencing here in Aotearoa,” Mr Findlay says.
Maori are disproportionately represented in the need for food-help – and it’s good to see at least 30 iwi organisations now established to also help whānau and communities.