With the cost of living on the rise due to the impacts of COVID-19, household budgets are being stretched and more New Zealanders than ever are reaching out for help from local foodbanks and City Missions.
Every New World is partnered with a local foodbank or City Mission - and to help replenish New Zealand's foodbanks, New World is back with their annual Family2Family Foodbank Appeal.
The appeal runs from Monday, May 2 to Sunday, May 15, and encourages customers to visit their local New World and fill up a paper bag with foodbank-friendly products, or select one of the pre-filled Family2Family bags online, or in-store - and the team will make sure the donations get to the local foodbank or City Mission.
New World has made a commitment to be Here for NZ and a part of that is a promise to enable New Zealanders to have access to healthy and affordable food, regardless of their situation. To add to the Family2Family Appeal support, New World will match every bag donated with a $20 contribution, up to the value of $250,000.
If you're wondering what kind of foods and products are suitable to be donated, Wellington City Missioner Murray Edridge is here to help. He says non-perishable items are the best - and to keep it simple, think of the day-to-day basics you'd put in your own trolley.
"Products people can donate are spreads like honey and jam, spaghetti, baked beans and pasta, soap, shampoo, deodorant, and nappies," Edridge says. "Essentially, all the non-perishable items that you would put in your trolley."
Edridge says the annual Family2Family Foodbank Appeal is vital for keeping the shelves of their Social Supermarket well-stocked and ensuring teams and volunteers can continue to meet the increasing need in the community.
"The rising cost of living and the continuing pressure of the COVID-19 pandemic has seen the need for our services, including food support, much higher than ever before," he says.
"For those doing it tough, the extra costs that winter brings puts a lot of pressure on the family budget and often there just isn't enough left for food. Part of the Mission's role is to connect people in the community who have resources, with those who don't. New World's Family2Family is a wonderful opportunity for people to help families in their community who are struggling. By filling a bag of groceries at New World, you really are helping to make a difference."
New World's Family2Family Foodbank Appeal runs from Monday May 2 to Sunday May 15.
To find out more about New World's commitments to be HereforNZ click here.
This article was created for New World.
