Costs force Vinnies to halve food caravan visits in Hamilton

St Vincent de Paul visits neighbourhoods where many are doing it tough every other Thursday afternoon, parking and handing out food to people who need it.

“It is hard, because we’d love to do it weekly . . . but the cost of food and the cost of fuel makes it a bit prohibitive,” St Vincent de Paul Waikato manager Mike Rolton​ said.

Vinnies also takes its caravan on a food run through the CBD and along the Waikato River to feed the homeless every fortnight. Mr Rolton said doing both missions less often was better than stopping altogether.

“It wasn’t an easy decision to make, but at the end of the day, we had to make the right decision for us.”

Mary Ngaronga of Vinnies said many of the children who approach them in suburbs like Nawton “. . .  come home and they don’t have dinner on the table, because a lot of times parents can’t afford to give them a basic meal”.

“And so the caravan comes around and we’ve got lots of smiley faces and it’s quite rewarding knowing that we’ve left them with a full tummy,” she said.

Vinnies employee Casey Taurua added: “I’d love to do every night, because the need and the struggle is so real, even with people that are donating to us.”

A New Zealand food network report for 2025 showed that 40 per cent of Waikato households are food insecure, which is a “significantly larger” proportion than the national average of 32.8 per cent.

FULL STORY

‘People are struggling out there’: The charity taking a caravan out to feed local kids (By Rachel Moore/Stuff)

‘Can’t see it getting better’: The region where almost half of residents are struggling to put food on the table (Stuff)