Rotorua Whakaora's free food store to close: Operators exhausted and out of money

Elmer Peiffer is closing Whakaora food service. Photo / Andrew Warner

Hundreds of people who use a free food service weekly will now need to go somewhere else after long-established food distributors Rotorua Whakaora have been forced to stop handing out food parcels.

Elmer Peiffer, who runs the service with wife Gina, said they have had to make the "gut-wrenching" decision to close the free store on Depot St while they worked on a better structure.

He said they were exhausted, out of money and needed to be more effective otherwise they risked working themselves "into the grave".

He promised after some time, they would be back bigger and better.

The closure impacts the free store service only which was open Tuesday, Friday and Saturday for three hours each day.

On those days, people would come to the store and collect a parcel of food - containing items such as cereal, sauces, tinned goods and other non-perishables as well as fresh fruit and vegetables and bakery items.

Peiffer estimated each week their service was feeding hundreds if not thousands with their last opening day on Saturday alone attracting 183 people who represented individuals of large families.

Rotorua Whakaora, formerly Love Soup, was set up by the Peiffers in 2014. Initially, they fed the homeless hot meals but their focus changed in May 2020 as a result of Covid-19.

When many of the city's rough sleepers were put into motels during the first lockdown, Love Soup was no longer needed because many of the homeless were given food. Instead, their service changed tack and they became food collectors and distributors. The change resulted in the new name.

Peiffer collected food each day from Rotorua's three Countdown stores and Pak'nSave, Starbucks, Patrick's Boutique Bakery, Pantry d'Or Boutique Bakery, from an egg farm on Tauranga Direct Rd and once a week from the New Zealand Food Network. He also made regular trips to Nourished for Nil in Hastings and Just Zilch in Palmerston North.

Peiffer said he would still do pickups each day locally and would collect the food for networks from outlying areas to pick up, such as in Maketū, Kaingaroa, Mangakino and Murupara.

They would also still provide food bags at their weekly pick-up point at Linton Park Community Centre on Sundays.

However, they no longer had the capacity to run the labour-intensive free store.

"We pride ourselves on being able to do a lot of the work with minimal funding. We are all about getting the work done without chasing funding."

However, realities had started to bite. They needed concreting work done on their driveway at their donated Depot St store, a forklift and money for vehicle running and maintenance costs.

"We need to free up time to chase money to keep this operation going."

He said they had fantastic support and donations from members of the community that helped fill the gaps but they needed more to work more efficiently.

They were also short staffed and it was a big ask to get volunteers to keep the place running.

The Peiffers are beneficiaries because it allowed them time to run Rotorua Whakaora but they were often working seven days a week and up to 14 to 16 hours a day.

They've only had two days off over Christmas in recent months and it was starting to take its toll.

"People have no idea how much work goes on behind the scenes. They think the parcels of food magically appear but it's hours and hours of travelling and manual labour putting them into bags."

He said pressure had mounted during high-risk Covid-19 periods as everything needed to be contactless and proper protocols needed to be in place.

"It's gut-wrenching ... It did break our hearts but if we carried on, we wouldn't last. In order to carry on, we have to apply for money."

Peiffer said the hard part was knowing their service was needed. He urged those who needed food to utilise all the other services on offer and not to be afraid to ask for help.

Captain Hana Seddon. Photo / Supplied

Rotorua Salvation Army corps officer and community ministries director Captain Hana Seddon said Rotorua Whakaora had been a constant support for all kinds of food for the community for a long time.

"We sincerely appreciate the mahi the team at Rotorua Whakaora has done ... Their efforts are certainly appreciated."

She said the name Whakaora meant to bring life and that was what they had done to many people locally over the years.

"It's now time for them to take some time and find that energy again for themselves after all that incredible hard work."

She said the Salvation Army foodbank was operating and it was best to telephone first to make an appointment or call in if people were unable to phone. The foodbank is open Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 10am to 2.30pm.

Percy Poharama, who with his wife Louisa provides meals for the homeless from Kuirau Park Monday to Friday, said he was saddened to hear Rotorua Whakaora would be closing its free store.

"They were one of the best support groups for people here in Rotorua, I hope they come back soon."

Poharama said he and his wife hadn't been doing it as long as Elmer and Gina Peiffer but he understood how the need in Rotorua drove helpers to keep going. Poharama also had a day job and said it wasn't uncommon to work from 4am to 11.30pm to get the work done.

"Elmer is a great guy, I have a lot of respect for him. I see him working hard every day and finding food all the time is really hard."

Community and Voluntary Sector Minister Priyanca Radhakrishnan said she knew things had been tough during the Covid-19 period, including for the community and voluntary sector.

"Many have gone out of their way to ensure that people who needed a little extra support and volunteering is essential to the social and economic recovery of New Zealand. As a Government, we've supported our foodbanks and social agencies with funding through the Covid Response and Recovery Fund, but we know there is always more we can do, which is why I'm looking into what more can be done to support volunteers and volunteering."