Volunteers of the Shannon Kai Hub enabling better lives through kai

Some of the volunteers at the Shannon Kai Hub, which opened in May. Photo / Supplied

The spirit of volunteering is visible everywhere you look at the Shannon Kai Hub. From the bustle of stocking the shelves, to the friendly chatter in the op shop, to the clean-up after opening hours, the work is shared by 27 volunteers from as far away as Levin and Longburn.

The hub has been operating for six months and its vision is better lives through kai.

"Our focus is not just community food distribution, but a greater sense of connecting the community and offering wider encouragement and empowerment," community innovation navigator Sharon Williams says.

"We want our community to have more abundant food and know this leads to better health. We want to feel better connected to each other; to be able to support, nurture and cherish each other. We offer opportunities for community members to volunteer and support others; at the same time, we want to support our valued volunteers as part of the team, no matter how many hours a week they gift."

The youngest volunteer is Bear Starstrider, 11. You'll find her at the hub every Friday with her mum, Willow. She is a master of shelf stocking, barcodes and customer service.

"I really enjoy putting out the new food products, it's fun," Bear says. She has really enjoyed getting to know more people in the community through this role.

Lynette Metcalfe loves the company. As an older person living on her own, the friendly environment and opportunity to socialise mean a lot. Like most volunteers, she also enjoys being a hub customer, and was "roped in" to volunteering at the counter.

Michael Vincent delivers a station wagon's worth of food from Just Zilch each week. It is important to him to fit the weekly kai mission into his busy working week, and he enjoys seeing the empty shelves fill up again. "People are going hungry, this is the least I can do."

Anyone interested in volunteering can contact the hub via Facebook, on 021 0895 0544 or pop in to the centre at 36 Plimmer Terrace, Tuesday to Saturday 10am-3pm.

• Environment Network Manawatū is a hub for about 60 enviro groups, working in areas ranging from sustainable living to wildlife conservation. Find them on Facebook or visit enm.org.nz.