Filling the Kai with Love gap
It was not a box of fruit and veges last week, but all food is good as far as Brightwater Community Anglican Church vicar Paul Milson is concerned. Photo: Anne Hardie.
The Brightwater Community Anglican Church is working on a proposal to bring the Hapori Fruit & Veg Box programme to the community to fill the gap left by Kai with Love after it closed.
Vicar Paul Milson says that at one point there were around 40 families receiving free weekly food parcels when the church partnered with Kai with Love, but the charity closed down in January. Now he is hoping the church might be able to partner with Hapori so Brightwater and Wakefield families can pick up an affordable box of fruit and veggies without having to travel into Richmond.
Paul says the Kai with Love service provided not just food, but a chance for people in the community to chat and sometimes share their problems. He hopes to resurrect that.
“It is a way of helping people financially in financially-difficult times and checking in with people. We set up a table and coffee for people to sit around and chat. Sometimes there were tears and hugs and so it provided food and also a sense of connection.
“Not everyone was on the bones of their butt. Very few people were absolutely desperate.
“Most people were on single or double income where the cost of living with mortgages or rent, petrol and food meant that a box of food gave them a little bit of padding.
“It gave them $20 to $40 they didn’t need to spend on food.”
Since Kai with Love closed down, he says the church has been looking at partnering with another food service and has asked Brightwater and Wakefield communities if they would buy Hapori fruit and vegetable boxes. So far, more than 60 families have expressed an interest in buying the boxes if the service was offered in Brightwater.
“It means they wouldn’t need to travel into Richmond for fruit and vegetables. A Hapori Fruit & Veg Box is just $15 with a market value of between $23 and $30. That might mean savings that a family can use for their kid’s school trip.
“It helps put some fat in the system that wouldn’t be there otherwise.”
He says many families are struggling with the cost of living and are looking for ways to cut costs where they can.
“We aren’t going to die of hunger, but we’re a bit stressed out about how we are going to make things work.”
Paul says the church is not sufficiently resourced to offer the kind of service that Hapori could provide, so partnering with them would be a win-win for all involved – especially the local community. He says talks with Hapori are ongoing.