Keeping the shelves stocked and the whānau fed

Pauline Graham-Hayes (Ngāpuhi) spent 13 years selling stuff when she ran the Salvation Army Family Stores in Hamilton, now she’s giving stuff away in her role overseeing the food bank – among other things – in Kirikiriroa.

Pauline is the Community Ministries team leader in Hamilton, so she’s a busy woman.

Along with overseeing the food bank, she’s also involved in organising the front of house, arranging welfare assessments for whānau and dealing with other welfare issues, along with supporting anyone else who comes through the London St doors seeking help.

“I’m a bit of a doer,” she says.

After leaving her Family Store role for a short stint in Australia, she returned to Te Ope Whakaora in Hamilton last year as a financial mentor.

“I did that for a little while and then I kind of started inheriting the food bank side and then I inherited a little bit more.”

Even in the relatively short time she’s been involved with the food bank, Pauline’s noticed a rise in demand for kai as whānau struggle with the cost of living.

To help ensure whānau receive food items they actually need, they’ve changed the way people receive food parcels.

Instead of simply handing over a brown paper bag with kai inside, now food bank users are assessed and allocated a number of points, depending on their circumstances.

Each item on the food bank shelves is allocated a point number and users are able to select whatever they need, up to the number of points they have.

“The way we’ve worked it out now, we’re trying to help more of the need and not the greed,” Pauline says.

It also means less gets wasted, as it was not unusual to find some unwanted items discarded outside the building.

While much of the food is donated by corporates, plenty of people donate items as well.

“Sometimes people just turn up with a boot load of food or produce from their garden.”

Often tinned tomatoes are among the donated goods – something people sometimes struggle to find a use for – so Pauline and her team put together meal kits which include recipes and all the ingredients needed for a healthy and  hearty meal.

“They have everything you need, then at the end you just add the chicken or mince.”

And while the shelves appear well stocked, things move fast and it’s hard to keep up with demand, particularly for more expensive items, Pauline says.

“Nappies, formula, they’re expensive things, and some people have pets, so pet food is quite expensive. Shampoos, conditioners, they’ve all gone up in price.”

“And school lunch stuff, that’s always a biggie.”

Pauline says some of the food parcel recipients are – understandably – whakamā when seeking support and she does her best to put them at ease.

The Food Bank is a bright, tidy and welcoming area and whuile the shelves are labelled in te reo Māori and English, Pauline is keen to see more te reo Māori incorporated throughout the service, simply to help Māori whānau feel more comfortable.

“Some of them are really shy when they first come in but we have a bit of a chit chat and they’re like ‘oh, it wasn’t that bad’.

It’s that important role of making whānau feel comfortable which Pauline enjoys most.

“Just seeing the smile on their faces and the kindness and thankfulness when they leave. That makes it all worthwhile.”