The son-in-law of Destiny Church leader Bishop Brian Tamaki has been awarded a $10,000 scholarship to help feed the needy.
Vance McPhee and wife Jasmine will use the AMP scholarship to kick-start their business providing low-cost grocery boxes to low-income families.
The couple have started building relationships with wholesalers andgrowers and have a ready-made customer base through their popular "Feed a Family for $20" Facebook page.
McPhee said the food boxes would contain food for breakfast, lunch and dinner for six people for a week and would link to recipes on their Facebook page, which had close to 65,000 members.
"To receive a scholarship from AMP really validates what we're doing," McPhee said.
"That's why Jas and I are starting with what these families are putting into their mouths. We're simply supplying the tools for a family to start living better."
Despite their family links to the wealthy Destiny Church, the McPhees said they had struggled financially and once had to cook a can of spaghetti over a candle.
Both have been declared bankrupt in the past after money troubles from a house sale that went wrong.
This year, the couple signed a cook-book deal with Penguin Books and this week they launched their first e-book - a Christmas cook book - which sold 35 copies on its first day.