EDITOR'S NOTE
KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON… AND HELP
Keeping calm and carrying on is going to be
easier said than done as we all navigate our
way through COVID-19 and its implications
across industries and sectors.
As we hear of redundancies here and cut
backs there, the food sector has responded
brilliantly from paddock to plate through
innovation and adaptation to accept
opportunities.
Post Covid-19 meltdowns will continue and
get worse before the economic landscape
gets better…. but they will get better.
The prediction that some million Kiwis will
potentially need food during this time puts it
sharply in perspective.
We are definitely all in this together and
some of the nation’s biggest players are
propping things up. Foodstuffs - New World,
Pak'nSave and Four Square – has donated
$1 million to groups supporting Kiwis facing
tough times during the COVID-19 pandemic.
With supermarkets open during the alert
level 4 lockdown and facing large customer
Greg Robertson
demand, the company has been focussed
on supporting its essential workers on the
frontline.
The $1 million pledge is to assist its social
and charitable partners in supporting New
Zealand's most vulnerable individuals "at
a time when they have seen significant
reductions in contributions and increased
demand".
Community foodbanks, marae, city missions
and other charitable organisations around the
country are reporting unprecedented demand
since the beginning of the pandemic.
Even as the country eases restrictions,
hardship is set to continue due to growing
unemployment rates and tougher economic
conditions.
‘Kiwis helping kiwis’ is the driving force
behind an initiative of more than 700
boxes of fresh produce being donated
to families hit by the crisis by one of our
country’s largest locally owned and operated
companies.
Foodstuffs North Island and Foodstuffs
South Island have sponsored these muchneeded
fresh fruit and vegetable boxes and
partnered with United Fresh and the 5+ A
Day Charitable Trust, which manage the Fruit
and Vegetables in Schools (FIS) initiative, for
distribution to vulnerable families this week
Foodstuffs is utilising the distribution
systems established through the FIS network
to deliver boxes of fresh produce around the
country.
David Smith, chairperson of the 5+ A Day
Charitable Trust, says the donation from the
Foodstuffs Co-operatives has come at a time
of real hardship for so many New Zealanders.
This situation is predicted to escalate
through 2020, with some organisations
expecting that as many as one million Kiwis
will suffer from food insecurity.
Now that's what I call being in this together.
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