The need for emergency food support can affect people from all walks of life - we can’t choose our circumstances sometimes and the events that may put us under financial pressure.
Sadly it is food that gets the lowest priority when families have serious money troubles. Rent, power, school costs, health costs all come before food - and that is where we can help.
HOW CAN I ACCESS FOOD SUPPORT?
Phone 03 6896226 or pop in to Community Link House between 9am and 2pm Monday to Friday.
One of our team will work with you to do a brief assessment of your current situation. This assessment will include some questions about the makeup of your household, and your financial situation - which help us provide you suitable support. These assessments can be done over the phone or face to face.
No food is stored at Community Link House so we will need to go offsite to prepare your food parcel we will then ask you to pop in at an arranged time to collect. This is likely to be between 3pm and 4pm.
This is a non discriminatory service and is open to all residents of the Waimate District.
If you are concerned about someone’s situation but they are not confident to approach us for food support we are happy to take referrals. One of our team will contact them and help them access the support that they need.
HOW CAN I SUPPORT THE WAIMATE COMMUNITY FOODBANK?
Our community foodbank could not work without the support of an incredible community like Waimate. Every donation is a vital step in helping support those individuals and families during their hardest time - and thanks to you we get to ensure that we are putting healthy, nutritious parcels into homes that need it the most.
You can donate to the Waimate Community Foodbank in a variety of ways:
Drop your donations of dried or canned goods, or New World Vouchers, into Community Link House between 9am and 4pm Monday to Friday.
Donate at New World Waimate into one of their foodbank baskets (these donations are shared between the Waimate Food Providers Network).
You can make a financial donation to into our bank account 02-0892-0086291-00
You could have a club or workplace fundraiser, or join in one of our Foodbank Friday events - and work collectively to support those in need.
WHAT HAPPENS WITH MY DONATIONS?
We guarantee that 100% of community donations will be used to provide food support here in the Waimate District.
Any financial or NW Voucher donations will be used to purchase meat, vegetables and dairy products as required to supplement our food parcels and ensure that we are meeting the New Zealand Food Parcel Standard and are putting out nutritious food support.
All food donations go into our foodbank stores and these are used to create food parcels to support those in need. We work with our clients to assess their needs and make sure we are putting appropriate support in place.
THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS
The support provided from Tommy, Casey and the team at Waimate New World - whether it is letting us have collection baskets for donations, or giving us unused bakery goods, or the incredible Family2Family foodbank appeal - their commitment to supporting the vulnerable in our community is outstanding and we just could not do this work without them.
We have been fortunate to partner with Meat The Need - a fantastic charity who have been supplying us with frozen mince since July 2023. They connect the dots between farmers who want to donate some of what they produce and families in need. Produce, in the form of premium mince and milk, is donated by farmers and put into the hands of those already on the frontlines of food insecurity in NZ: food banks and community organisations.
Nāu te rourou, nāku te rourou, ka ora ai te iwi
“With your food basket and my food basket the people will thrive” - Maori Proverb
