The Pātaka Kai Lockdown Challenge: Over 3,000 Food Parcels
As New Zealand moved into lockdown on Wednesday March 25, the immediate challenge for the Pātaka Kai was how to distribute parcels to whānau in need of food, at a time when that need increased markedly. The result was an overnight transformation as the team moved from a “come to us and get what you need,” food collection service, to a “let us know your need and we’ll come to your place,” food delivery service.
This change was only possible thanks to the large number of people who volunteered to help out with practical support, and the generosity of those who generously gave money and food items.
Practical support involved two teams – one packing food parcels and the other delivering them to whānau all over West Auckland. This practical help came from over 16 other agencies and organisations within our community, and from staff deployed from other VisionWest Services, including Housing, Budgeting, Home HealthCare, BI, Quality, Finance, Operations, Marketing and Partnerships, ETC, and Whānau Centre.
In terms of donations, the Pātaka Kai received around $100,000 in monetary donations, all of which was spent on food, and many dozens of pallets full of food donated by food manufacturers and processors from around Auckland.
This generosity and working together meant that, by the time Level 4 ended, VisionWest’s Pātaka Kai had distributed over 3,000 food parcels supporting more than 800 households within our communities.
This equates to a food value of over $460,000. As mentioned, about $100,000 worth of this food was purchased, meaning more than 75% was donated.
They say that Kai (food) is the great connector and it has definitely done this for us over the lockdown period. We want to thank everyone for their kind donations and practical support.
Click here for Contact Details for Visionwest’s Pataka Kai.