Hamilton Vinnies helping starving pensioners

The Society delivers food parcels to 90 pensioners in Hamilton every fortnight, delivered across four days in the week between fortnightly pension payments.

Hamilton Vinnies special projects manager Shonae George said that while families were struggling, it could be harder for pensioners.

“Our hearts are quite sad for our pensioners because as much as times are hard for families, it’s harder for them because their money doesn’t get increased,” she said. “They’re real genuine, like they need it.”

The Vinnies food parcels are stocked with the basics.

“We still try to give them toilet paper, stuff like that. Underneath’s got milk, cereal, tea bags. We’ve got some butters, we’ve got cans of food, pasta and then a whole chicken for today,” Ms George said.

“We’ve been told it’s Christmas when they get one of these parcels. There’ll be food in here like an orange that they haven’t had for a long time. That just one little orange makes their year, you know?”

Hamilton St Vincent de Paul’s general manager Mike Rolton said 80 per cent of their food parcels would now go to pensioners and the criteria was simple – their only income had to be the pension.

By the time power and rent are paid, Mr Rolton said, “there’s very little left for food, sometimes . . . about $20 is all that’s left.

“We’ve had pensioners come in here looking for underwear because they can’t afford to buy it.

“They’re starving. The ones that we see are coming to our [community] lunch currently are very, very hungry and they’ve told me that’s the only meal they get. They’ve done their time. Let’s look after them for a bit better.”

Mr Rolton expected the number of pensioners needing food parcels to more than double over the next few years.

According to the Older Persons Poverty Monitor 2026 released by the New Zealand Council of Christian Social Services (NZCCSS) last month, 168,000 older people reported delaying a doctor or dentist visit because of cost; 147,000 people aged over 65 live in accommodation they do not own; 102,000 older people are living below 50 per cent of mean income after housing costs; and 25,000 older people are living in material hardship – nearly one in five of that age group.

The monitor provides New Zealand’s first national baseline for measuring poverty in older people. The NZCCSS said the results reveal levels of hardship the country should no longer accept.

FULL STORY

Hamilton pensioners going without food, charity says (Radio New Zealand)

Time to draw the line: First-ever measure of older people’s poverty reveals nearly one in five living in hardship (NZCCSS)