Budget Footnotes

Hi Everyone,
Just a few notes today about Foodbank.
Foodbank provides a vital service to many communities by giving families and individuals food parcels in times of great need. It is a common misconception that only homeless people or people on Work and Income require food parcels. Our main recipients are families and single people, many of these people are employed who through no fault of their own, have some time of emergency in their life. It could be a death in the family, a car accident, loss of hours in their job, a sick child, especially one who has to be hospitalised i.e. Starshop, car repairs, ACC late payments and a family member in court. All these above emergencies require extra money to be used that week. Many of these families are only just surviving from week to week and because of what has happened they pay the rent and power but have no money for food. We have noticed that some children can’t even go to school, as there is no money for lunches. We also have a few homeless people who live in this area which we are often providing food until a service can look after the.
As our foodbank is a non=profitable, charitable organisation, we rely on food donations from many sources grocery retailers, church organisations and local community minded organisations. Without these generous people there would be a lot of very hungry families and individuals. About 90% of all our food is donated from local and external people as far as the Waikato.
When you donate money or food to a foodbank you are helping to provide one of life’s most basic necessities to those who need it. A simple box of feed makes a huge difference because it helps prevent crime, housing loss and family violence. The alternative for people who don’t have access to a foodbank would be to go hungry, steel, borrow from family/friends or take food from rubbish bins.
Foodbanks may also be able to help you find a social worker, a service to help you, financial advice or somebody to talk to. The amount of food that you receive depends on the number of people in your family and the amount of food the foodbank has available.
If you are involved in any sort of community group i.e. Scouts, Girl Guides, Sports groups, schools, see if your group may be able to do a food drive. We have generously received from Waitoki School a large amount of food from their students. This was very gratefully received and a big that’s to the teachers who organised it. We would also like to thank very much the Helensville Lions for their generosity each month in money and also the local churches who are absolutely wonderful.
Cheers
Frances

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