Foodbank finds new premises after toxic alert

The Tauranga Community Foodbank has relocated. Manager Nicki Goodwin (left), chairman Alan Plunkett and Philippa de Vere have been busy moving everything in. Photo/Andrew Warner

Less than a week after the Tauranga Community Foodbank was forced to vacate its premises due to toxic black mould and asbestos, it has found a safe new home.

Staff and volunteers have been busy readying the new premises, located on Brook St behind Fraser Cove, which will officially be open to the public on Monday morning.

Chairman Alan Plunkett was rapt with the amount of support from the public who offered to help after the council vacated them from the Dive Cres building.

"There's been awesome co-operation from the public and from local firms," he said.

The new premises was twice the size of the previous building and he imagined it would take staff and volunteers "a bit of getting used to".

Their new premises would house about 18 freezers and one large chiller.

"At the moment this is home, it's as simple as that. This is where we will be and this is where people can find us."

He said the foodbank was originally looking to find a new home into the new year.

However, the recent circumstances meant they were able to relocate just in time for Christmas, their busiest time of year.

Manager Nicki Goodwin said that foodbank staff and volunteers would now have more space to sort, pack and deliver food all in the one room.

She said the extra space itself was much needed and would make the process for sorting food more efficient.

"There's much more space so there'll be more going on at once. We haven't been able to do that before."

Mr Plunkett said Tauranga City Council, the foodbank's landlord, had offered to give volunteers health checks, which the foodbank had accepted.

Tauranga City Council communication adviser Marcel Currin said there was no airborne asbestos found.

He said no decision has been made yet about what to do next with the building.