Auckland social activist, community leader, and health and fitness promoter David Letele – also known as the Brown Butter Bean – says he has no idea how long his foodbank will last into 2025 – but he’s determined to keep trying.
In October he thought it was all over, with funds running out – but $330,000 of donations from 2 wealthy individuals and the Mormon Church, plus another $200,000 from a Givealittle page – saved the day, and Christmas for hundreds of needy families from Auckland to South Waikato.
Letele admits things did look bleak – but now his team is determined to keep going.
“Our why though has always stayed the same, it’s helping people. And as long as we keep that in the centre of our hearts, it doesn’t matter how big we get, we can never go wrong. I never want to turn into a massive group that started off as a community but turned into just another bureaucratic mess. You know every decision we make it’s ‘how will it affect our people’?” says Letele.
Dave Letele says many other social providers have not been as fortunate.
He says the government needs to focus on helping poor people, not just the well-off.
