Congratulations and well done to Foodstuffs – the co-operatives behind PAK’nSAVE, New World and Four Square – is expanding its innovative social supermarket initiative to the Far North, which will provide the dignity of choice for whānau in the region who need support with accessing food.
As part of its commitment to be Here for NZ and a promise to provide New Zealanders with access to healthy affordable food and supporting communities to thrive, the new social supermarket will be operating in Kaitaia by late May.
Foodstuffs has partnered with Te Kahu Oranga Whānau, a collective of iwi and Māori organisations in Te Hiku o te Ika (the Far North), including Waitomo Papakāinga Development Trust, Te Whare Ruruhau O Meri, Te Rūnanga o te Rarawa and Tuhiata Mahi Ora who are all pulling together to transform the premises in Kaitaia, into a social supermarket.
Foodstuffs North Island Head of Membership Experience Willa Hand says, “The idea behind social supermarkets is that when individuals or families have an emergency need for whatever reason – maybe they’re having a tough week, or a tough month and are struggling to put food on the table – we can do more than just give them what we have in a pre-packed food parcel. The intention is to have a range of products on the shelves in our social supermarket that enables them to come in, have the dignity of choosing the products they need themselves, so they can make the kind of meals they want to cook, shopping in an environment that looks and feels like a normal supermarket.”
The highlights:
Foodstuffs, have donated over 8.9 million meals through its Here for NZ food rescue partnerships and relationships in 2021.
The opening of Te Hiku Pātaka follows the success of a Social Supermarket partnership between Foodstuffs North Island and Wellington City Mission. In its first year of operation, this initiative helped 3,268 Wellingtonians who needed food support shop with dignity in a supermarket environment and also access other support services to help them get back on their feet.
The future:
Discussions are already underway with community partners in six different regions, including Tauranga and Whangarei, to set up similar social supermarkets.
Why we love this initiative:
Every social supermarket will be different, tapping into the local knowledge of community partners to tailor the offering for the needs of each community.
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