Covid-19: Māori food network established to help struggling whānau in lockdown

Tuesday, 31 August 2021

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield head the lockdown briefing for August 31.

A group of tangata whenua leaders are working to establish a Māori food network and aiming to reach more than 200,000 whānau amid the latest outbreak of Covid-19.

Taumata Kōrero, which services whānau from Te Hana to Port Waikato across Te Ika-a-Māui / the North Island, is setting up the programme as a “crisis response due to the mounting pressures of the extended lockdown”.

Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei Whai Māia Chief Executive Rangimarie Hunia said providing kai security and access for Māori was “an absolute priority”.

“This network was created as an immediate response to an immediate need that is escalating at a rapid rate across Māori communities,” Hunia said.

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The collective was formed in 2020 as a means to coordinate support services across Tāmaki Makaurau, with its members including marae, Māori primary health providers, Whānau Ora providers, urban Māori authorities and Māori housing providers.

Taumata Kōrero aims to reach 200,000 whānau through its Māori food network. (File photo)

Hunia said the impetus for a Māori food network came as supermarket and dairy supply chains faced “unforeseen volatility” due to the disruptions of the level 4 lockdown.

“It’s critical in times like this when Tāmaki is under siege from [the] Delta variant that Māori unite,” she said.

Taumata Kōrero’s Huri Dennis said the network had bought $500,000 worth of vouchers and $250,000 worth of bulk items on Tuesday to cater to demand over the next fortnight.

“We have seven weeks at least ahead of us due to the lockdown levels in Tāmaki,” he said.

“These providers are of huge scale and collective impact doing some serious lifting. Like massive. No agenda other than serving those that are struggling.”

Te Puea Winiata, the head of Māori health provider Turuki Healthcare, said the organisation “wholeheartedly supported” the kaupapa.

“We’ve been working together a number of months now to ensure there is equity across service provision and funding to ensure that we can get to whānau but with the resources that they need,” Winiata said.

The initiative would depend on the “goodwill, passion and commitment” of a dedicated workforce, with Ngā Whare Waatea being the logistics hub of the kaupapa and Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei the admin centre, Taumata Kōrero said in a statement.

The network’s long-term goal would be to work towards kai sovereignty for Māori, Hunia said.

Taumata Kōrero said it had met with Ministry of Social Development (MSD) commissioners and Government ministers, including Minister of Health Andrew Little and Minister for Whānau Ora Peeni Henare, about securing support.

Henare, speaking to Waatea News, said it was concerning to hear about the struggles of whānau accessing food, particularly in some of Auckland’s lower socioeconomic areas.

“What has become clear … is we need a Māori food network, one that is able to access that chain of supply but more importantly is able to distribute to our Māori communities,” Henare said.

MSD data showed 36,771 food grants were given out the first week of level 4 lockdown, up more than 14,000 from the previous week.