Cost of living 'ripping the social fabric out of towns like Tokoroa'

Friday, 8 July 2022

New Zealand's first social supermarket was set up by Wellington City Mission and New World to 'give people some dignity... when life's a bit hard for them'. (This video was first published on August 17, 2021).

Pre-packed food parcels are out and trolleys in at a social supermarket tackling “food insecurity” in Tokoroa, described as one of the country’s most deprived towns.

The supermarket will be opening mid-August and will be run by South Auckland-based Buttabean Motivation (BBM) at its new site at 49 Ashworth St.

“No one should feel ashamed to be getting food support,” BBM founder David Letele said.

BBM has been operating a gym in Tokoroa for the past three years and has teamed up with Foodstuffs North Island to provide much-needed help for whānau facing “food insecurity”.

Dee Shortland is the team leader for BBM Tokoroa and will be part of the team running Tokoroa's new social supermarket at the same site.

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“It’s about giving people what they need to provide for themselves and their families through tough times, without taking away any of their dignity,” Letele said.

David Letele, a former pro boxer known as the Brown Buttabean, outside his South Auckland HQ.

Letele, the 2022 Kiwibank New Zealand Local Hero of the Year and Dancing with the Stars competitor, said he and his team, led by Tokoroa local Dee Shortland, had learned a lot about the needs of the community. They would focus on “providing food support with dignity, by allowing people who are experiencing food insecurity to choose what they need for themselves in a supermarket-style environment – rather than providing people with a pre-filled food parcel that might not meet their specific needs”.

The supermarket would run along similar lines as the recently opened Te Hiku Pātaka in Kaitaia – which is a partnership with Te Kahu Oranga Whānau and Foodstuffs North Island.

Unlike the traditional food bank and food parcel model, Te Hiku Pātaka operates like a supermarket.

People take a trolley around the shop and pick items off the shelf.

After an initial interaction with support staff, whānau are asked to make a small contribution towards their groceries, providing a more dignified shopping experience.

“The idea is that this will be a place that provides more than just emergency food access – it’s a place where people can connect with a wide range of support services to help make sure that one day, they don’t need the social supermarket any more,” Letele said.

He said it would not have been possible without help from his friend Dan Ludlum, managing director of Putāruru’s The Timber Barron, who was paying for the lease of the building.

St Vincent de Paul Waikato general manager Mike Rolton said the situation in Tokoroa was terrible, and he supported the idea of a social supermarket in what he called “one of the most deprived towns in New Zealand”.

“The combined cost of living is ripping the social fabric out of towns like Tokoroa, it’s just terrible.”

The Tokoroa supermarket will be Foodstuffs’ third social supermarket partnership, following the success of the year-old Wellington City Mission Social Supermarket and Te Hiku Pātaka in Kaitaia.

Foodstuffs North Island’s head of membership experience Willa Hand said partnering with BBM in Tokoroa was a “no brainer”.

“We’ve had a close relationship with BBM for some time now, and have supported their Foodshare operations in South Auckland since the beginning of the pandemic.

“When they told us about their plans to open another Foodshare in Tokoroa, it made total sense that we would throw our support behind it and help them set it up as a social supermarket.”

Hand said discussions were underway with community partners in several other regions to set up similar operations.

BBM’s Dee Shortland said if someone was in need in Tokoroa, they would be there to help.

“I think it would be good for anyone who find themselves in a predicament, even for working people there’s a big need in Tokoroa for this.”

Letele said backing from Foodstuffs would help take their plans for the Tokoroa community to the next level.

“Having Foodstuffs on board means we get their retail expertise and support on all the logistics of setting up a supermarket, training a team to run it, and getting processes sorted to make sure there’s always stock on the shelf when people need it.”