Being Generous

2019 Foodbank:

TBC’s contribution to Foodbank was 7100 items including:

• 1691 cans or creamed corn

• 444 small cans of fish

• 333 medium cans of fish

• 435 large cans of fish

• 181 tubes of toothpaste

• 1377 razored

• 280 cans of shaving foam

• 242 deodorants

• 108 shampoo bottles

• 500 soaps

Tauranga Foodbank is a 'Godsend'

A Bay woman who has received help from the Tauranga Community Foodbank says there were days when she felt like crawling into the wardrobe and not coming out. The mother, who asked not be named, said "Do I feel down at times? Yes, I do but you have to carry on."Making ends meet was a daily struggle and living on a benefit was tough work which often caused financial stress, she said."It's hard out there and you have to make decisions on a daily basis."It was a juggling act and often other necessities went by the wayside, including doctor visits, she said."You need to get to the doctors but you think 'no, I need to buy food for the house'. You actually forget about a lot of things because I'd rather put myself aside."

Small amounts of money put aside during the year was usually gobbled up by other emergencies, she said."A school trip will come up and you use it or something else will pop up." The Tauranga Foodbank was a hand up, she said, and a Godsend, which she had used when there was no other alternative. There was no shame in seeking help although asking for assistance herself proved to be difficult "but I had to put my kids first".

She had nothing but gratitude for the people who worked there. "I'd like to say thanks a million for helping each and every one of us and for being there. The people that work there and the volunteers are doing an awesome job. "I think they are all fantastic." Getting a food parcel allowed people to get back on their feet and the foodbank offered help to ensure they did not become reliant on the service.

She also wanted to acknowledge the people who donated to the foodbank. One day she hoped to give back as a volunteer and was already doing some community work, she said.

Tauranga Foodbank manager Nicki Goodwin said the foodbank was there to help in emergencies and unexpected situations. Unfortunately there was still a perception that the foodbank was only there for beneficiaries, she said, but "we help people from all walks of life regardless of their income". It networked with budget advisers and "we actually want to make things better for people rather than just being a Band-aid for a week".

- Bay of Plenty Times

Tauranga Community Foodbank facts - from Foodbank Manager Nicki Goodwin.

For the period Jan to Nov 2015 the provided a total of 5,232 food parcels. This went to 16,263 people who live within our Community, 9,595 of these were children. Tauranga Community Foodbank assists those within the area from Pahoia down to Papamoa East. We work with 70 Referral Agents within our Community such as Plunket, Tauranga Hospital, Salvation Army and Tauranga Budget Advice. These agencies refer people to us who they identify need assistance with food.

As at August 2019:

• In the last year we issued 5,047 food parcels helping more than 15,000 people in our community with food. More than 8,000 of these were children.

• The increased cost of accommodation is having a major impact on people’s finances and they need to turn to foodbank for extra help.

• Foodbank works with 90 other community/social/medical/educational organisations who identify those that need help and refer them on to us. We are able to help out up to 4 times in 12 months with food.

• Foodbank can offer a greater level of help with food parcels to families and individuals who are working closely with a registered budget adviser. This is a free service and is aimed at educating people and helping them to improve their financial situation for the future.

• We do not receive any government funding and rely solely upon donations of food and money from our community.

• We are incredibly lucky to have a solid team of more than 60 volunteers and have relied upon more than 10,000 hours of volunteer work in the last 12 months to run the Foodbank.