Social supermarket opens - but hopefully not for the long term

Tuesday, 16 August 2022

Staff and volunteers from Tokoroa's ‘social supermarket’, led by Dee Shortland, centre.

Tokoroa has celebrated the opening of the North Island’s third ‘social supermarket’ and while the district’s mayor said it was a great achievement, she hopes its services won’t be needed in the long term.

On Monday, about 100 people packed into the headquarters of Buttabean Motivation (BBM) Tokoroa on Ashworth St for the official opening of the town’s new social supermarket that provides “food support with dignity to people in need”.

South Waikato mayor Jenny Shattock said the unique offering definitely had its place as the community battled with rising inflation and food insecurity.

“But I know that one day we will not need a social supermarket in Tokoroa,” she said.

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Supermarket patrons are allocated points to spend on different items, including fresh fruit and vegetables.

The supermarket is a partnership between BBM and Foodstuffs North Island and is the third of its kind, along with the year-old Wellington City Mission Social Supermarket and Te Hiku Pātaka in Kaitaia.

Tokoroa’s social supermarket offers its patrons more choices in a more dignified, non-judgemental environment.

The social supermarket allows people experiencing food insecurity to choose what they need for themselves in a supermarket-style environment – rather than a pre-filled food parcel that might not meet their specific needs.

“Times are tough, and no one should feel ashamed to be getting food support,” BBM founder David Letele said.

“We decided to bring this initiative to Tokoroa because we have an existing BBM group down here, and through that have learned a lot about what the community needs.”

Foodstuffs North Island chief executive Chris Quin said BBM was one of many organisations the company partnered with to support struggling communities.

“We’ve had a close relationship with BBM for a while now, and have always supported their Foodshare operations in South Auckland.”

Quin said each social supermarket was different and uniquely tailored to the needs of the community it served.

People take a trolley around the shop and pick items off the shelf, and after an initial interaction with support staff, whānau are asked to make a small contribution towards their groceries, providing a more dignified shopping experience.

“That’s what makes this model work – our Foodstuffs’ team brings retail expertise, we support all the logistics of setting up a supermarket, training a team to operate it, and sorting replenishment processes,” Quin said.

“But it’s the local community organisation who decides exactly how things will run and what the offering will be for customers.”

He said work to set up more social supermarkets in the North Island was underway, and he was working with community partners in regions including Whangarei, Tauranga, and Gisborne.

Supermarket and BBM volunteer Michelle Bell said it wasn’t just about the kai, it was also about offering people a wide range of support services, so they would eventually have no use for the supermarket.

“We can help connect them with those services and get them back on their feet again,” she said.

The social supermarket shares a site with BBM’s newly opened gym in Tokoroa, and Letele said the vision was for a place that provides more than just emergency food access, helping people with a “hand up” rather than a “hand out”.