This Christmas 'more people are struggling'

Queues outside the Auckland City Mission this morning. Photo / Jason Oxenham

With just seven days to go before Christmas, record queues of desperate Kiwis have become a permanent fixture outside the Auckland City Mission. This year, the aid organisation has seen the largest numbers of people seeking help and an alarming number of "first time" clients requesting food parcels and presents for children.

Auckland's City Missioner Dame Diane Robertson said a third of people were making contact with the mission for the first time.

"Last week out of the 1200 or so people who came to us, 450 people had never gone to a food bank before and you can't get a food parcel unless you really can prove that you haven't got any other resources. I think that is quite interesting, I have never had such a high percentage of new clients before during any Christmas," she said.

"Obviously more people are struggling, more people are turning to food banks for the first time and I think it is people who were perhaps just coping last year who aren't coping this year."

Since opening its foodbank on December 7, the mission has distributed 3061 food parcels to families, some of whom queued from 4am until late evening to get their $64 parcel. Last year, over the whole Christmas period, the mission provided 3150 parcels.

Mission fundraiser Mackenzie Pickert said today's queues had been the longest she had seen.

"We've arrived at work today to the longest line outside yet and donations this year are worryingly low on all fronts - especially financial," she said in an email to the Herald.

"We've given more than 2400 emergency food parcels from the Hobson St drop-in centre since last Monday, and they're flying out the door almost faster than we can pack them."

Dame Robertson said the aid organisation were "struggling to keep up with the demand".

Dame Diane Robertson, City Missioner and CEO of the Auckland City Mission, stands at the end of the line, where people line up outside the Auckland City Mission. Photo / Brett Phibbs

"Christmas falls next Friday and people sometimes don't think about it until the very last few days, about the need, but we have been seeing people for food from the 5th and 6th of December and the donations are not keeping up with the demand."

Ms Robertson said a shortage in donated food items had left the Mission having to buy food to give to those in need.

The Auckland City Mission has appealed to the public for financial donations and donations of non-perishable foods.