Kai for Kaiapoi: North Canterbury woman delivering kai to those in need

Tuesday, 22 June 2021

Kelly Jeffs formed Kai for Kaiapoi North Canterbury to help feed struggling families.

A North Canterbury woman is scaling up her generosity from finding ways to use leftover groceries, to creating an organisation dedicated to feeding those most in need.

Kelly Jeffs began making meals in her Kaiapoi kitchen eight weeks ago to use up any pantry items she did not want to waste, but the “insane” response she got when she offered to give the meals away on a Facebook community page told her more needed to be done.

“I didn’t realise so many people needed help. It’s not just people on lower incomes.”

She set up Kai for Kaiapoi North Canterbury last week – a self-funded venture to help what she said was a growing need in low and middle income families struggling to feed themselves or their families.

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Kelly Jeffs is cooking meals for people in need in the Kaiapoi community.

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Jeffs said she knew what it was like to need that help, having suffered a serious mental illness in the past. Her subsequent recovery led her to want to help others in her community.

“I’ve had to use foodbanks. Up until I recovered, life was hard, but now I’m in a place where I can give back.”

She was now delivering “comfort food” to grateful recipients from all walks of life. It has proved an emotional journey with people often shocked she would do this out of her own pocket.

From her small kitchen, Jeffs made and delivered meals like mac ‘n cheese, pasta bakes and roast chicken with roast vegetables. She also made breakfast boxes and had secured some sponsorship to make lunch boxes.

The mother of two used the time when her children were at school to make the meals, and planned to increase the number she made. Since she launched Kai for Kaiapoi, two other members of the community had offered to help.

Jeffs is passionate about making sure those who are vulnerable have access to good food.

Jeffs haf also been working alongside the Kaiapoi Menz Shed on a project to provide 20 families with a raised bed, seeds and soil each to grow vegetables in their own backyard.

“It’s so expensive to buy fresh vegetables and easier to buy junk food because it’s so cheap.”

She hoped to roll the gardening project out at the end of winter and would seek sponsorship for the timber required.

Jeffs started offering free meals as a way of making sure food didn't go to waste.

Many foodbanks across Canterbury have reported a surge in people seeking help since the Covid-19 pandemic began.

The Christchurch City Mission had experienced a 12 per cent increase in new clients since the start of the year.

City Missioner Matthew Mark said many of the mission's new clients were working class families who were struggling because their wages had not kept up with living costs.

Winter was a tough time for families as they spent more trying to keep their homes warm, and accommodation and power costs were often prioritised above food, he said.

Foodbank Canterbury chief executive Dr John Milligan previously said that by the end of 2020, the organisation was distributing nearly 100 tonnes of food a month that would have otherwise gone to the landfill.

Milligan said the organisation's resources were stretched as it delivered the equivalent of 9000 meals to vulnerable and at-risk people mainly in Canterbury, South Canterbury and the West Cost.