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Families are increasingly needing help to put food on the table as the cost of living rises — and a city foodbank is finding its pantry empty amid a shortage in donations.
For years, the Salvation Army foodbank in Invercargill has relied on donations from people across the city to provide about 50 parcels to families every week.
However, with inflation pressures and the increase in food prices, the foodbank has, for the first time, needed to buy food to continue providing the service which many people rely on.
Salvation Army community ministries navigator San Morin (left) and community ministries manager Cathy Strong are finding its pantry empty amid a shortage in donations. Photo / Otago Daily Times / Luisa Girao
Community ministries manager Cathy Strong said many staff who had been working or volunteering at the organisation for many years were shocked when they had to start buying food.
“We are having an increase in middle-income families now, so it’s not just the lower-income bracket — it reaches far and wide.
“The numbers have increased, the donations have decreased and, on average, we’re spending around $5000 or $6000 a month [on food].”
The foodbank would need to find about $75,000 this year to be able to sustain what it was doing, she said. In the last financial year, the Salvation Army foodbank helped 2594 people, an increase of 20 per cent on the previous year when it helped 2048 people.
From the household perspective, it provided parcels for 879 households during the 2022-23 financial year, while in 2021-22, it helped 703 households.
Salvation Army corps officer Murray Sanson said the pressure increased after Covid-19 as during the pandemic the government created a lot of assistance for families.
“The demand was less during the Covid [period] — even though the demand was huge — because it moved from two foodbanks to 26 in Invercargill.
The foodbank is spending around $5000 or $6000 a month on food, says Community ministries manager Cathy Strong. Photo / NZME
“The government had handed out a lot of money for a lot of organisations that started up because the need was so huge with Covid and the lockdown, but now that it has finished — or should I say the money available for Covid has finished — then those organisations have also finished up because there’s no money in it.
“So therefore, people are coming back to us as the usual that donate the food.”
As a way to gather some income, the Salvation Army was planning to launch a programme in the city, along with Food Together, which was very successful in Gore.
It would sell boxes of fruit and vegetables at low prices.
“In the first week in Gore we had 52 orders, last week there were over 200 orders, so now that we’ve seen what it means for a community like Gore, we want to try and bring it to Invercargill.
“So we’re looking for volunteers who will be keen to jump on board with it.”
While they were looking for volunteers, she and Sanson continued to plead to the community to donate cash or food so the Salvation Army could continue to provide the service for the community.
“We understand everyone is facing pressures and this community is very generous, but it is important to remember to people that if they can help, it is always much appreciated,” Strong said.
