Over the weekend, Hauraki’s first social supermarket is scheduled to open.
The goal of the new Paeroa shop was to maintain the dignity of the impoverished while addressing the issue of food insecurity in the neighborhood.
Named Pātaka Kai – Hauraki Social Supermarket (pantry or storeroom in te reo Māori), it is a collaboration between Foodstuffs North Island and Te Whāriki Manawāhine O Hauraki, a women’s refuge in the Hauraki region. It’s the sixth social supermarket that Foodstuffs has backed.
Healthy eating was made inexpensive and available to the community by offering food and grocery products within a typical supermarket setting at a reduced or no cost through the use of a points system.
According to Nadine Hamon of Te Whāriki Manawāhine O Hauraki, Pātaka Kai has been held at the Puke Road, Paeroa location since 2021. Someone considered establishing a store as a result of being inspired by Dave “Buttabean” Letele, who in 2022 launched a social supermarket in Tokoroa in collaboration with Foodstuffs North Island.
“We need to put some kind of system into it and make it happen,” stated Denise Messiter, general manager of Te Whāriki Manawāhine O Hauraki, and here we are.We thus went to Foodstuffs, and [owner-operator] Matt Heap at Thames Pak’nSave, who was eager to assist, is the chairman of the Foodstuffs Here for NZ Committee, which was established to help Kiwis obtain wholesome, reasonably priced food during lockdown. “We consider ourselves fortunate to have them as our buddy store, and Matt was eager to get things going,” Hamon remarked.
With Pak’nSave Thames, Te Whāriki Manawāhine O Hauraki can receive a store credit.
A family would receive 75 points for $20, while a single adult would receive 55 points. These points could be exchanged for a variety of groceries with a significantly larger value.
“We are doing extra large family amounts on a trial for two months because some whānau around here have six to eight kids.” In its previous existence, the facility saw 22 visitors each day on average.
Te Whāriki Manawāhine O Hauraki board of trustees member Tania Weidenbohm said that the organisation already offers food support to more than 150 households each week.
The goal of the partnership with Foodstuffs North Island, according to her, was to establish a social supermarket that would provide those families and the neighborhood with “an empowering experience.”
“We plan to provide a supermarket-style setting where individuals facing food insecurity can select products that suit their dietary, cultural, and individual preferences.”
