Food, glorious food.
Staff at the St Vincent de Paul foodbank were left with the unusual sensation of wondering where to start putting things after a truck loaded to the brim with food arrived at the centre yesterday.
Centre and pastoral co-ordinator Sarah Strang said the Dunedin City Council had done a collection around all its staff and brought in ‘‘the most extraordinary amount of food’’, just when the foodbank needed it most.
‘‘I actually can’t believe it.’’
‘‘Two weeks ago, I didn’t know how we were going to get through the week, so that’s amazing.’’
People were struggling at the moment, so demand was very high and stocks had been running low, she said.
‘‘It’s a really tricky time of the year.
‘‘It’s a combination of things. The cost of housing is taking the majority of people’s income and there’s simply nothing left for the basics.
‘‘So people are spending all their income on rent, power and then next comes food.
‘‘Food is often the only variable in people’s budgets and that’s the one that gets dipped into when there’s not enough.’’
Without the community can appeal this year, the foodbank would not receive its usual supply of canned food to get it through the first six months of next year.
She hoped the community, businesses and schools would continue to be generous and help fill the void.
‘‘People are extraordinary if they know that we need help, and we do need help at the moment.’’
