The bags are then transported by vehicle to three other pickup areas – Ōtaki, Waikanae and Raumati Beach – where customers collect their pre-ordered $15 bags, place the contents into their own bag and take them home mid-afternoon.
Steve Cropp and Asta Hoverd, 4, bag potatoes. Photo / David Haxton
This weekly supply of fruit and vegetables has grown in popularity, especially now the cost of living is rising.
Christine Bull, who helps spearhead the operation, said a bag from the co-op was good value, with the contents costing more in the supermarket.
The branch also gives 30kg of spuds each week to the Kāpiti Community Foodbank and often distributes them to primary schools, kindergartens and the Kāpiti Women’s Centre.
The Kāpiti branch is part of the wider Fruit and Vege Co-op Wellington Region which is an initiative between Regional Public Health’s Te Whatu Ora Wellington, Wesley Community Action and community partners.
Helen and David Prankerd hard at work. Photo / David Haxton
“It was all about getting healthy fruit and vegetables into the community,” Bull said.
“It started originally after the earthquakes in Christchurch because the shops were munted and people couldn’t get to them.
“So fruit and vegetables were brought to the community.
“Then there was a pilot project in Cannons Creek, Porirua, which was so successful that it was rolled out to other areas.”
The Kāpiti branch started in 2017 at the Paraparaumu Baptist Church before moving to St Paul’s Anglican Church, in Kāpiti Rd.
When it started 60 bags were filled but the demand has grown so much that the number is 220 to 230 bags in recent weeks.
Kath Bull selects apples. Photo / David Haxton
The fruit and vegetables come from Market Gardens Wellington, a group of local growers that sell to the co-op at wholesale prices.
