Dire food needs – Food charities face double demand
Local food help agencies have been inundated with demand, churning out record numbers of food parcels this winter, amid an unprecedented need to feed everyone from migrants awaiting visas to local families.
Baskets of Blessings operations manager Lee Nicolson says deliveries of their food boxes and frozen meals have doubled this winter in what’s been a record year so far. “Our 2025 figures will be more than double what we delivered in 2022 – 100% growth,” Nicolson says. “This is bigger than we’ve ever done before.”
Their volunteers do anything from 45 to 85 deliveries a week to local households, thanks to generous donors.
She says there’s been a huge increase in migrant people stuck and unable to work while they wait for visa processing. “These are families, not just individuals, and Mum and Dad and the kids are sleeping at someone else’s house as they can’t work until their visas come through and have no money to even pay a bond on rental accommodation until then,” she says. “Our migrant communities are fantastic at looking after each other – Uruguayans looking after Uruguayans and Argentinians taking care of Argentinians, but visa delays are causing great hardship for many,” she says. “They’re here and absolutely willing and able to work, employers ready to hire them. It seems the only thing in the way is the complexity with regulations and visas.” She says these people have already showed great commitment and initiative to get themselves and their families halfway around the world. “We want to harness that enthusiasm, and initiative,” Nicolson says.
There are equally as many Kiwi families needing help, many impacted by severe illness. “Often the breadwinner runs out of holidays, sick leave and leave without pay. It’s very, very hard, mentally, physically and financially for them to get back on top.” Helping these people get back on their feet through challenging times is “what we love to do”, she says.
Salvation Army Queenstown Lieutenant Anna Natera says their phones have been running hot with people requiring food and financial support. She’s seen “a noticeable increase” in demand for food assistance, especially during winter. “Rising rent, power, and grocery costs are putting immense pressure on our families, and many are having to make difficult choices, sometimes going without food just to keep their homes warm,” she says.
KiwiHarvest generously provides food each Wednesday and up to 50 people receive food to help them get through the day. This is in addition to the Sallies’ food parcel programme, which offers financial mentoring, welfare advocacy and counselling support.
The Sallies Winter Appeal launched on Sunday (27 July), is calling for non-perishable food bank items to help those facing hardship and offer hope during a challenging season, she says. “We’re doing everything we can to ensure no one has to face winter alone.”
KiwiHarvest Queenstown, which collects surplus food and redistributes it to charity groups, has gone through more than 800kilos of fresh venison mince since early autumn, the meat donated by the Southern Lakes Deerstalkers Programme, branch manager Gary Hough says. “We don’t get any other meat as it’s such a high value item, so we’re very grateful for that. We get it processed.”
A tonne of food has also gone out to local charities through the ‘Souperheroes’ Campaign, with local schools getting right behind that initiative. Hough’s hoping to expand that to Wanaka next winter.
Charities urge locals to donate any staple grocery items like cans, dried goods, pasta and rice to the collection points at supermarkets around town or donate online.
