Struggling Wanganui families are losing their homes, and for the first time City Mission workers have had to turn away hungry people because they had run out of food.
City Missioner Shirley Joy Barrow said food had run out at a Castlecliff friendship meal. "There were just too many people and not enough food," she said.
Wanganui Budget Advisory Service manager Sandy Fage said most people were not eating properly, many could not pay their bills any longer and most creditors had become harsh and uncompromising.
"With the cost of food, power, petrol there's absolutely nothing left over," Ms Fage said.
General prices in New Zealand rose 0.8 per cent in the March quarter, due mainly to higher prices for food, petrol and cigarettes than in the December quarter, Statistics New Zealand said this week. "People increasingly just can't meet these increases and manage to pay other debts besides their food and rent," Ms Fage said. Families with mortgages were finding it impossible to keep up repayments so were losing their homes.
Loan companies had toughened up and people were really suffering, she said. "Exactly where we are going as a country is hard to say because we are in a very scary situation. I have huge concerns for people's well-being and state of mind."
Mrs Barrow agreed things were getting worse. "And I'm trying to talk people out of committing suicide as well."
To the end of March the foodbank had given out 785 food parcels. Multiplying that by four meant that by the end of the year the foodbank would have given out around 3140 food parcels compared to 2191 last year, Mrs Barrow said.
Exacerbating the situation, Ms Fage said, businesses in Wanganui were not hiring and it wasn't looking like getting better any time soon. "In fact, at this point I can't see a silver lining ... definitely not this side of Christmas."
It had even got to the stage for some families where men were leaving their wives and children and going to Australia for work, so they could send money so their families could survive, Ms Fage said. It was upsetting knowing so many people were not eating well any more, she said.
"Too many are living on instant noodles and chippies because they are cheap."
Ms Fage said she was telling people they should start growing vegetable gardens.
"It's not an overnight solution, but it's all I can come up with at the moment."
Many people were not educated in how to juggle their finances, she said.
"They pay for their bare necessities and there's nothing left over, say, for the power bill, so they hope that over the next week something good will happen.
"There's no money for life any more. There's only enough for the very bare necessities for so many. It's just frightening," Ms Fage said.
Mrs Barrow said the queues for the foodbank were getting longer, the need for handouts was getting worse, with more new people coming in.
"It's really not good at all."
Yesterday Labour's spokeswoman for consumer affairs, Carol Beaumont, said Kiwi families were having to make terrible choices between putting food on the table, putting gas in the car or taking children to the doctor.
"Rising costs are putting families on the brink of despair and loan sharks are at the ready and open for business," she said.
Cash crisis for families
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