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A family sits in their car, taking 40 minutes to pluck up the courage to walk inside and ask for a food parcel.
It’s a scene Rik Te Tau, the general manager of Palmerston North Methodist Social Services, has watched play out numerous times and one he hopes will be stamped out by a “more mana-enhancing” alternative to the traditional food bank.
The city’s first “social supermarket”, Koha Kai Whare, was launched on Monday. The converted storeroom on Main St looks and feels like a regular grocery store, but in place of prices there is a points system.
Unlike food banks, that tend to provide pre-packed parcels, comprised of whatever goods a charity can source at the time, Koha Kai Whare provides clients with freedom of choice in a shopping environment they are familiar with.
Clients are allocated points, such as 75 points for a large family, who then “spend” them how they wish, suited to their dietary, cultural, and personal preferences, on a wide range of goods typically stocked by supermarkets.
There is also support staff on-site to assess clients’ needs and help them access other services.
Warwick Smith/Stuff
Packed shopping trollies indicate how many groceries Koha Kai Whare clients can select during a visit, from a large family to a single adult. They are free to select the items they want within the points-limit.
Te Tau, who joined Methodist Social Services last year after six years as manager of the local Salvation Army, said for many people food banks carried a stigma that was akin to begging, where people felt they had to prove themselves worthy of a parcel.
“It’s personally important to me that young people see their parents shop, that they actually don’t see their parents go in and beg for something.
“It’s our right to have food.”
Te Tau said the store wasn’t replacing the traditional supermarket; people couldn’t simply walk in and do their weekly shop for free. Its purpose was providing occasional food access relief for those who needed it.
“It means they can potentially put money aside for something else. So it just takes away that burden slightly.”
Warwick Smith/Stuff
Each item is assigned points which is comparative to its pricing in a traditional supermarket.
Koha Kai Whare would build towards being able to cater for 100 clients a month, providing them with a week’s worth of groceries every four weeks.
Willa Hand had the job of finding suitable community organisations for Foodstuffs to partner with, and locations where there was high need, which, in the midst of a cost of living crisis, was everywhere in New Zealand.
She said there was misconception that only people “at the bottom of the cliff” had need for a social supermarket.
In her experience, the people accessing social supermarkets were everyday Kiwis, genuinely needing support, who only needed to lose one shift in their working week to not make ends meet.
“What we’re finding is there’s a whole range of people who, for whatever reason, have found themselves needing a bit of support right now.
”So they’re used to shopping in supermarkets. To them going to a food bank is foreign and can be quite daunting.”
Warwick Smith/Stuff
Former Methodist Social Services general manager Kim Penny, left, and former mayor Jill White check out the range of goods. The store features more than 1000 popular grocery items.
Hand hoped that when people walked into Koha Kai Whare, it would feel familiar. The points system was aligned to retail prices, which helped people to budget.
“So you’re doing the normal trade-offs like we all do.”
She said they had avoided making “social decisions”, such as excluding sugary drinks, as it was important to ensure clients were able to make the same decisions as every other supermarket shopper.
“It’s about people having choice, dignity and empowerment. What we know is that people who are able to contribute to their shopping, and have more efficacy, have a better sense of self in that situation, and we just want to enable that. To create a space with no judgement.”
Hand said each of the partner supermarkets contributed financially to a fund that powered the scheme.
Warwick Smith/Stuff
Koha Kai Whare opened on Main Street in Palmerston North on Monday.
Pak’nSave Palmerston North, owned by Steve and Diane Duffield, would act as the “buddy store” for Koha Kai Whare, providing ongoing support and training, and keeping the shelves stocked.
Te Tau said before clients could take a trolley down the aisles, they would be invited to have a kōrero in the whānau room, to establish their needs what other support they may be required. Their name, address and telephone number or email would be recorded.
There was also a financial expectation that users contributed to the cost of the groceries, and this would help fund further food purchases for the store.
Warwick Smith/Stuff
Pupils from St James School, who performed a waiata at the opening, warm up with a barbecued sausage courtesy of Beard Brothers.
When it came time to do the shopping, each client would have the aisles to themselves, to ensure confidentiality for those new to seeking such support.
Te Tau said he had already received 168 Facebook messages requesting appointments, but he stressed all bookings needed to be made face-to-face at Koha Kai Whare.
Palmerston North Methodist Social Services board chair Pat Hancock praised Te Tau for driving the project.
He said the charity had long been synonymous with its food bank and food drive, but in recent years they had realised the need to support people beyond handing out food, and enhance their sense of value.
Koha Kai Whare would operate in addition to the food bank, not as a replacement. It was open weekdays, 10am to 3pm, at 663 Main St.
1 NEWS
Forty-eight per cent of voters surveyed in the 1News Kantar Public Poll said cost of living was the issue most likely to influence their vote this year. (First published 13/03/23)
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