Range of events for Neighbours Day in Te Puke

Sharn Steadman will hold a Manaaki Mushrooms workshop as part of local Neighbours Day celebrations.

Food is an international language - and one that is being used to encourage neighbours to get together over the next 10 days.

Still carrying the name Neighbours Day, the initiative seeks to encourage a celebration of and connection to neighbours with the theme Kai Connections.

Locally Neighbours Day is being promoted by Colab, a group of local groups and organisations working for the betterment of Te Puke.

''It's about getting people to engage in all the different ways we connect over kai – growing, sharing, creating and eating,'' says local co-ordinator Cathy Dale.

A range of activities is being planned in Te Puke from morning teas to sharing recipes, cooking demonstrations and a public barbecue, and anyone with any ideas for more is welcome to hop on board.

''With Covid, the key thing with Neighbours Day events is that they are small, targeted events,'' says Cathy.

Also because of the pandemic and limits on gathering numbers, there is an emphasis on making connections rather than events.

''An activity can be as simple as just writing a letter to your neighbour or just knocking on their door to make sure they are okay, which is pretty important really at the moment.

''There's a lot of vulnerable people in the community who may not have support in place or may not know where to go to get support for picking up groceries and things like that, so it's just about encouraging people to talk to their neighbours really.''

There is a range of resources available for anyone wanting to organise their own event including posters, recipe flyers, giveaway tea towels or aprons and a handy set of postcards for contactless messages to neighbours.

Email admin@colabcommunity to find out more.

Already Manaaki Mushrooms is holding a workshop on March 26, there will be a morning tea for seniors at Te Puke Baptist Church on March 23 and an afternoon tea today at Te Puke Methodist Church organised by Rural Women New Zealand Te Puke-Rotoehu.

Volunteers will be making up cookies in a bag (dry ingredients to make cookies) to be handed out at events, several pataka kai are being built to go to various organisations and cooking demonstrations are being filmed to be posted online.

Visit the Neighbours Day website for more details on local events.

This is the first year Colab has been involved in promoting Neighbours Day.