Vinnies Hamilton general manager Mike Rolton says he might have to cap the number of food parcels handed out. Photo / Malisha Kumar
Vinnies Hamilton general manager Mike Rolton says he might have to cap the number of food parcels handed out. Photo / Malisha Kumar
A Waikato foodbank is struggling to keep up with record demand for food parcels and fears it might have to start turning people away.
The Society of St Vincent de Paul (Vinnies) in Hamilton said it initially budgeted for 5000 food parcels this year, but after returning from the NewYear break, staff realised the demand exceeded 8000 parcels.
The general manager of Vinnies, Mike Rolton, told the Waikato Heraldhe might be forced to cap the number of food parcels they hand out at 5000, but it was a “hard decision”.
“If we cap it, who misses out? How do we make that decision? How do my staff at the foodbank say, ‘Sorry ... we can’t help you’?”
He said he understood that the “economy is growing and jobs [opportunities] are low”, but he hoped that by mid-year, more people would be employed.
“But, in the interim, organisations like ours have to pick up the slack.”
Rolton said demand had “gone through the roof” recently, and the types of people seeking help from Vinnies Hamilton had changed.
Previously, long-term unemployed people made up the majority of those seeking help, but this had dropped to 30% now, while working couples and homeowners made up around 43% of people seeking help, Rolton said.
He said the foodbank had “never” experienced such high demand, not even during Covid-19, when they handed out around 4000 parcels.
Vinnies community dining hall opened on January 20, 2025 in Hamilton. Photo / Malisha Kumar
“We thought that was high then, but now, this is way higher,” he said.
Aside from the foodbank, Vinnies Hamilton also provides lunch and breakfast at its community dining hall and distributes meals at night with a food caravan.
The caravan is a new initiative that runs two days a week and provides hot food, mainly to “streeties” and people living in shelters, Rolton said.
“The main reason we put the food caravan out was [because] we were hearing from information off the street ... they can’t afford the petrol to get to us.
“So we then thought we’d take the food to them.”
The caravan moves around Hamilton suburbs, where demand was highest, which Rolton said was recently in the CBD.
“We are providing food to 260 people, 85 children... That is more than we expected.”
Rolton and his team initially planned to extend the caravan service to five days a week, but Rolton was unsure if they could fund it any more.
“That’s going to be 500 or 600 people come through ... can we keep going and can we afford to do it?”
St Vincent De Paul Hamilton general manager Mike Rolton in the charity's Hamilton foodbank. Photo / Peter Tiffany
Rolton said Vinnies Hamilton was now in the process of reviewing all its services to ensure it could resource them all.
A decision was expected later this month.
In the meantime, Vinnies will “keep going” for as long as it can, Rolton said.
Anyone willing and able to donate food can do so at the Vinnies office in Hamilton on 224 Frankton St, or at the community dining hall on 42 High Street, Frankton.
Monetary donations can be made to the organisation’s bank account on 02-0506-0376355-00, referenced to Hamilton Area Council.
Malisha Kumar is a multimedia journalist based in Hamilton. She joined the Waikato Herald in 2023 after working for Radio 1XX in Whakatāne.
