Greymouth woman Eli Maiava (Waitaha, Kāti Māmoe, Poutini Kai Tahu) says the cost of food on the West Coast is astronomical.
“We only have three or two supermarkets here in Greymouth. So whānau really do struggle to be able to fill their cupboards with nutritious kai,” she said.
“We’re quite an isolated community so it doesn’t take a lot for gaps in the chain to affect us.”
Maiava manages Whare Manaaki o te Tai Poutini, which is a kaupapa Māori community space in Greymouth.
It offers community lunches and dinners, a community pātaka (pantry) and māra kai (garden) and is one of the New Zealand Food Networks (NZFN) food hubs.
NZFN, a food supply and distribution organisation, released a survey this week revealing a 20% increase in demand for food support in the six months to June 2023 compared to the six months to December 2022.
The survey found the rising cost of living was the main reason more people were seeking food support, followed by low incomes and unexpected expenses.
“Food is just one of the very, very basic needs. If you don’t have food in your belly, it’s really hard to just actually work through some of the other challenges,” Maiava said.
The cost of living rose 5.6% in the 12 months to September, with prices increasing at rates lower than previous quarters but still historically high.
NZFN chief executive Gavin Findlay said the survey highlights the immense financial pressure Kiwis are facing.
“We launched NZFN during the pandemic, and since then, we’ve seen the demand skyrocket in just three years,” he said.
“People are struggling to make ends meet, and our survey illustrates the very sobering reality that many Kiwis are unable to put enough food on the table.”
NZFN unveiled a 12-month fundraising campaign this week called Pitch In, which aims to help support communities struggling with rising costs.
The campaign calls on the public and businesses to make financial and bulk food donations to virtually fill Tāmaki Makaurau’s Eden Park stadium with meals. Every time the pitch is filled from one end to the other, NZFN will provide 100,000 meals to Kiwis in need.
Celebrities like comedian Leigh Hart, former All Black Piri Weepu and Special Olympics athlete Grace Payne are supporting the cause.
Maiava said she wants to see more investment in self-sustainable living practices so that whānau “don’t have to sit there with their hands out”.
“We used to run a program called Kōanga Kai... and there is such limited funding in that space that we’re no longer able to operate to do something more sustainable than just put a box of Weet-Bix on your shelf,” she said.
“I’d love the government to be... funding those sorts of initiatives... enable us to be proactive and self-sufficient and to live in a way that helps us look after each other as a community, and to grow and share what resources we can create.”
