It’s been a tough year, and we’re heading into a tough 2023.
Stats NZ reported this week the annual food price has increased to 10.7 per cent.
It said last month that the annual increase was due to rises across the board in all the broad food categories it measures compared with November last year.
Grocery food prices rose by 10 per cent; fruit and vegetable prices increased by 20 per cent; meat, poultry, and fish prices went up by 12 per cent.
Rents are high, and fuel prices are up and set to rise further when, at the end of February, the 25c-per-litre excise subsidy will drop to 12.5-cents-per-litre before ending on March 31.
Interest-rate hikes are tipped for those on fixed mortgages. They will have to face this pain too when the time comes to refix.
Something has to give.
This is where organisations such as Tauranga Foodbank and Rotorua’s Salvation Army Foodbank come in.
Over the past five weeks the Rotorua Daily Post, Rotorua Weekender, The Hits Rotorua 97.5FM and, in the western Bay of Plenty, the Bay of Plenty Times have been running our annual appeals.
We have a week to go.
Also during this period, we have been highlighting the massive work these organisations do and just how important that work is, especially in these times.
One Tauranga mum we spoke to this week was brave enough to share her story.
“In the last couple of weeks, it has hit me that life really is a survival game right now,” she told us.
“I haven’t been able to afford Christmas presents for my children. It’s kind of like, what bill am I not going to pay this week so that my kids can have presents on Christmas Day?”
These sentiments can sum up what it’s like for many families and no one wants to see people go without, especially at Christmas.
It’s also refreshing to see, over the course of these appeals, just how our communities can rally and offer support without judgment.
In Rotorua, the annual Fill The Bus day smashed its record - with a total of 10,041 items donated, beating the previous record of 9376 in 2020 and last year’s total of 6597.
Our bus driver, Jodeen Mclean, has also been a client of the foodbank, and she shared her amazing story with us.
In Tauranga, numerous schools and community groups are digging deep to give the foodbank a boost.
Merivale School donated 200 items through a student-led non-uniform day. Tauranga Boys’ College donated 100 hampers.
There are many other stories, too numerous to recount here, but equally deserving.
Whether it’s one can of baked beans or 100 hampers filled with goodies, it all counts and means one less person will go hungry this Christmas.
There’s still time to donate. Our appeals end next Friday but the Rotorua Salvation Army and Tauranga Foodbank will always accept donations.
It feels good to help others. Please help us support these two amazing organisations.
