POVERTY IN CHRISTCHURCh: food banks under pressure as demand skyrockets
Over the coming weeks, Chris Lynch puts a spotlight on poverty issues and homelessness in Christchurch, speaking to social service agencies trying to help the city’s most vulnerable.
Christchurch’s main food banks say they’re under pressure and stretched to capacity.
Riccarton-based Foodbank Aotearoa New Zealand distributes food to 106 Christchurch charities.
It has a hub in Timaru and distributes across the wider Canterbury and the West Coast areas.
CEO Dr John Milligan said over the past year, there’s been a 30% increase in demand.
“In many cases, food insecurity is merely a sub-element of larger issues – homelessness, domestic violence, addiction and mental health issues.
Foodbank Aotearoa New Zealand currently processes between 5 – 6 tonnes of food per day. That’s about 284,000 meals per month.
Dr Milligan said over the past few years he’s seen a major change in the food insecure demographic.
“Now it encompasses the whole socio-economic spectrum. FBANZ is now a sizeable entity and is doing the government’s work.
Foodbank Aotearoa New Zealand CEO Dr John Milligan
Dr Milligan said “donor partner support (retail, suppliers/distributors, manufacturers, growers) is great although we still have to buy food to meet the demand.
Currently, we estimate we are running close to 27% short of demand.”
0800 Hungry Ministries Trust Warehouse Supervisor Nicky Bensemann said “panic and greed had grown into entitlement over the past two years.”
But said she they were seeing more of the “working poor” asking for help.
“Also many pensioners are struggling. We had an elderly man call us asking for help. He said he wish he kept working and didn’t expect to be in this boat.”
Bensemann said some families they’d had not heard from in years are now needing a hand up and they feel they are going backwards.
There are so many families and single people having a tough time.”
