Kāpiti Community Foodbank partners with The Warehouse Paraparaumu to collect donations

The Warehouse Paraparaumu trading manager Rob Crowe and Kāpiti Community Foodbank manager Jill Mason with a food collection box. Photo / David Haxton

Kāpiti Community Foodbank has teamed up with The Warehouse in Paraparaumu to get more donations for those in need.

Earlier today, foodbank manager Jill Mason met with The Warehouse’s trading manager Rob Crowe to install a collection bin near the store’s checkouts.

Mason said it’s been a long time coming and Crowe said donating locally has been a big focus for the store recently.

The bin, which was built and painted by members of the MenzShed Kāpiti with signwriting that was done by SignCraft Kāpiti, should provide a big boost for the foodbank.

Mason said due to the great grocery offers and wide range of household cleaners, she’s hoping The Warehouse’s customers will donate more of these items.

“We’re hoping for really big things from here.

“It’s more affordable for people here.”

And, as a bonus, it may prove to be a small boost in The Warehouse’s sales too.

Before Mason was the manager of Kāpiti Community Foodbank, she worked at The Warehouse, so she already had connections with the store manager, Celeste Paenga.

Once she started her new role, she reached out to Paenga to see if there was the potential for a foodbank bin to be installed, and her ex-manager was “more than happy” to oblige.

A Kāpiti Community Foodbank collection box at The Warehouse Paraparaumu. Photo / David Haxton

Now, the bin is undergoing a bit of a trial period, where it will stay for the next three months before being re-evaluated.

Depending on whether people use it and whether it’s an inconvenience to The Warehouse customers, its future will then be decided.

“I’m looking forward to seeing how it goes,” Crowe said.

It’s been a very busy winter for Kāpiti Community Foodbank, and Mason said it’s especially busy because lots of people are still living in their vehicles.

Due to how busy it’s been, the foodbank is starting to run low on a few basic items too, including soups and soup ingredients, tinned tomatoes, and two-minute noodles.

An updated list of what is needed is also posted on Kāpiti Community Foodbank’s Facebook page regularly too.

Mason said she’s excited to be getting involved in the upcoming Lions food drive too, in November, which is one of the biggest food drives of the year.

“It’ll be my first Lions one so I’m quite looking forward to it.”