Food Rescue Aoraki Trust has a new site for its Ashburton warehouse, enabling it to meet a growing demand from foodbanks.
The only full food rescue service in Mid and South Canterbury now operates from the Society of St Vincent de Paul’s new St Peter’s Centre in Allenton two days per week.
Operations manager Helen McKeown said the ‘‘lovely clean bright space’’ was perfect for the service, and was provided free by St Vinnies.
Every Tuesday and Thursday the Timarubased trust sets up the warehouse at the centre.
Staff and volunteers rescue food, check items on site to ensure they meet standards on packaging, best-before dates and freshness.
hey then fill boxes and allocate them to organisations which distribute food parcels.
The organisations include Waitahi Primary Health, Base Youth Centre, Ashburton Senior Citizens, YMCA, Hakatere Marae, Salvation Army, St Vincent De Paul, Community House Mid Canterbury (servicing four small non-profit groups), Ashburton kindergartens and early childhood centres.
McKeown said the food was rescued mostly from supermarkets, as well as greengrocers, farmers and food manufacturers.
‘‘The demand has increased because people are really struggling more,’’ McKeown said.
The trust previously operated from a former school classroom on Havelock St. In 2023, about 50 tonnes of food was rescued and distributed in the town, then last year this increased to about 70 tonnes.
‘‘Luckily we have had an increase in the amount of food we rescue, and that’s mainly because we drive it,’’ she said.
This was by keeping in touch with the Ashburton supermarkets and other providers. The Ashburton and Timaru foodbanks it supplies altogether reached about 2500 people each week.
St Vinnie’s president Trevor Wall said demand on the charity’s foodbank had increased ‘‘significantly’’ in the last two years.
‘‘I think the economic situation has made it worse,’’ Wall said.
It was a pleasure for the charity to provide the space at the new St Peter’s Centre for the trust, as it provided such a valuable service, he said.
The new centre opened about six weeks ago after the charity renovated the former Anglican church building, costing about $450,000. Part of the building is a one-bedroom residential unit for family harm cases, being managed by police.
