Thousands of Aucklanders living in food poverty - City Mission

Monday, 8 July 2019

Donations of canned goods are preferred as they last a long time and are easy to transport.

Thousands of Auckland families are forced to feed themselves on less than $7 a meal this winter, Auckland City Mission says.

Its Social Services general manager Helen Robinson said that for many families, once they had paid rent, debts, power, transport and medical costs, there was little left to spend on food.

Social services manager at the Auckland City Mission, Helen Robinson, said the need for food parcels in Auckland had grown significantly in the past few years.

'The heartbreaking reality is, a family of three has just $6.43 to spend on each meal. It also means their access to enough good quality, nutritious food is severely restricted.'

Launching its annual winter appeal, the charity is trying to raise awareness and funds to support those facing insecurity about where their next meal comes from.

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Volunteers put together food parcels, which typically contain bread, meat, vegetables and toiletries.

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Based on an Auckland household of one working adult earning just over the minimum wage for 40 hours per week, factoring in rent, debt, power, water, transport, medical and school costs to pay before buying food, led the mission to calculate some families were left with $6.43 to spend on each meal.

Statistics recently released by the Ministry of Health showed one in five Kiwi kids were living with 'food insecurity', meaning there was an uncertain or limited amount of food available to them.

Children in food-insecure households had poorer health and nutrition and higher rates of obesity, the Ministry of Health found.

Parents of children in those households were also more likely to report psychological and parenting stress.

'Our appeal is looking to raise money to continue to run the services and support we provide to Auckland's vulnerable citizens, we also want to try to raise awareness of food insecurity and how devastating, wide reaching and long term the effects can be,' Robinson said.

In the past few years, Robinson said the mission's demand for food parcels had grown 'significantly'.

'We have been struck by the massive demand for food, we're seeing a lot of parents sacrificing their need for food so their children can be fed, for many families there is not enough money coming in for them to live comfortably.'

To combat families' worries about food, Robinson said changes would need to be made by the Government to increase incomes as well as benefits.

Winter time made life 'complex' for struggling families, Robinson said.

'The reality of being cold and wet, has an effect on people, there's a lot more things needed, warm clothes, shoes, electricity bills, heating and medical costs. People have to make impossible decisions on whether to pay rent or buy food.'

To help the mission with its winter appeal, donations can be made through its website or people can deliver non-perishable foods to its building on Auckland's Union St.

'Cans of tuna, fish, salmon, fruit and vegetables are all helpful as they're high in nutrition and are easy to transport. Rice and pasta are other items we really appreciate,' she said.

The Salvation Army is also appealing to the public to spare a thought for people living in poverty over the colder months.

It said its Auckland Community Ministry was seeing a consistently high demand across winter with more than 200 people through the doors each week, the majority seeking assistance with basic needs resulting from high power bills, extra medical costs and other-housing related issues.

Jono Bell, The Salvation Army's National Director of Community Ministries, said vulnerable people struggled with warmth, shelter and food over winter, which could exacerbate or cause health problems.

'Substandard housing and poor heating often lead to sickness and people don't always get to a doctor when they should.'

Children from the most disadvantaged communities were twice as likely to end up in hospital for medical conditions and three times more likely to be hospitalised for respiratory conditions compared to those from the most advantaged communities, Bell said.

The Salvation Army is asking for donations to its Winter Appeal, which launched on Monday.