Vinnies supporting people who go days without eating

Hamilton Vinnies runs both a foodbank and a community dining hall in Frankton, serving free lunches three days a week.

“When the essential food becomes expensive, the parents decide who’s [going to] eat that night with their children,” said Vinnies Hamilton general manager Mike Rolton.

One man, he said, “just hoovered his lunch down in two seconds. He said he just hadn’t eaten for three days; he’s let his wife and kids eat.”

Widows and pensioners are also appearing in record numbers, Mr Rolton explained.

“Women used to make up like 1 or 2 per cent, less than 5 per cent, but now they’re around 20 per cent and they’re widows who just can’t live on the pension,” he said.

Between July and December last year, the charity served 900 meals. In the first half of this year, that number jumped to 2089 – a 132 per cent surge that Mr Rolton said shows how many people can no longer afford to feed themselves.

And he has seen a change, with those who turn up for help no longer just beneficiaries

“What we’re seeing is families, working families, who are our main increase, are struggling to feed their families for the whole week,” Mr Rolton said. “It’s because of the cost of living, and it’s not just food, but it’s also paying rent and power.”

The charity hands out around 4500 food parcels a year, feeding an average of 3.6 people per parcel. But as the need grows, the resources don’t.

“For the first time in my 15 years at Vinnies we are considering cutting how many parcels we can give out because it’s costing us too much money,” Mr Rolton said.

“The number of parcels [has] probably gone up by 45 per cent since 2024.”

He said the steepest rise is among working-class families.

“We try to get meat in every pack, but meat’s expensive,” he said. “Instead of putting two packets or 1kg of mince, we might put 500g of mince in.”

FULL STORY

Family’s old grocery bill exposes extent of food inflation (By Avina Vidyadharan/Waikato Times)