Coronavirus: Future of community food pantries hangs in balance due to Covid-19
Friday, 24 April 2020
Community food pantries will remain closed during alert level three – and possibly level two.
The pātaka kai, which are hosted by members of the community, allow for people to donate and access free food. There are more than 100 across the country.
They were started as a means for hungry families to get an extra item or two, but many people now rely on them to feed their whānau.
When New Zealand went into lockdown on March 25, hosts were told to shut down the pātaka to help contain the spread of coronavirus.
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Pātaka Kai (open food pantry) movement admin Candice Luke said the pantries will definitely not open in level three because the risk of transmitting the virus is still too high.
The possibility of re-opening during level two is also hanging in the balance.
'The guidelines are changing all the time so we're really not sure what it's going to be like in level two,' Luke said.
'It could be level two, it could be level one, our team is watching the Government updates everyday to know when we can operate safely again.'
Pātaka kai fill the gap for people in need, without the red tape, long lines, forms and eligibility concerns, she said.
'It's so painful to see people turn up to the closed pantries looking for food or wanting to donate, and turn them away.'
For people like Julz Clarke, the absence of the pātaka kai in her Auckland community has hit her family hard.
The single mum of three children, all below the age of 7, lost her hospitality job because of the lockdown.
Even before the lockdown when she still had a steady income streaming in, the pātaka helped when their expenses were stretched.
'I am on the benefit but that money is only enough to cover rent, our bills and some food …. we're really struggling with food,' she said.
'I don't want to ask on Facebook because there are so many judgmental people on there. With the pātaka, I could go and get food and not feel like I'm a lousy person for it.'
A Gisborne dad said he's never had to rely on the government for help, but after both he and his wife lost their jobs, food from a pātaka would go a long way.
He said they had always donated to pātaka because they could but now they are in a position where they need the help.
'It just goes to show that food pantries are such an important service to the community. Circumstances can change any time.'
West Auckland's Glen Eden pātaka Free Pantry admin Joy Bennett said people are struggling to make ends meet.
'We know the need is great … we are aware of a lot of people who have never relied on food parcels before, now needing this service because of a change in their situation,' she said.
'But being able to open to the public and monitor these pantries all day, it's just not possible for our hosts.'
Luke said five pantries have remained open during lockdown, but are operating as food banks.
They are in Hillcrest and Fairview in Hamilton, Maramarua, Pukekohe and Māngere in south Auckland.
Unlike pātaka kai where donations are left in food pantries for anyone to collect, the food banks are connecting to groups and communities on social media.
'People can get in touch with us and we deliver to them. That way we can contact trace if we need to,' Luke said.
'We wear PPE gear to make sure we're handling food safely and ensuring that for contact with people as well.'