Wainuiomata foodbank organiser says abuse of staff must stop

Fed up and angry. That is how Wellingtonian of the Year Teresea Olsen is feeling about some of the people using a Wainuiomata foodbank.

Pātaka Kai staff are facing daily abuse and threats, and Olsen said people using the foodbank are becoming increasingly aggressive.

Last week, she went public with her frustration posting that she would not tolerate any more abuse.

“I am sick and tired of all the abuse that is being hurled at our staff and threats. Enough is enough. For those who continue to abuse and threaten us we will no longer provide you with food.”

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Having stared down parliamentary protestors who last year threatened the Wainuiomata marae, Olsen is no stranger to threats, but she is at a loss to understand the reaction from foodbank users.

“Our community is becoming more angry, and I just don’t know why, but it has increased.”

The foodbank works on a no questions asked basis and does not require people to provide proof they have no food or require them to take budgetary advice.

The abuse takes a number of forms, including threatening to get gang members involved.

Pātaka Kai operates an 0800 number and Olsen said the staff member who answers, Janice Aldridge, had been on the end of some of the worst abuse.

Last week, Aldridge also went public with her frustration, posting that she would not tolerate it any more.

“I am the person who answers the Pataka Kai 0800 phone and seriously I would be permanently banned from this page if I repeated some of the abusive comments that I get.”

The foodbank was started to meet a need created by Covid, but there is still a significant need in the community, Aldridge said.

“A majority of the people that utilise this service are truly grateful however, sadly, some people are privileged, self-absorbed and just plain rude, and feel they have the right to abuse us.”

She had received calls in the middle of the night and on public holidays, and she said the abuse had to stop.

“So yeh, like the boss said, no more abuse. We are not going to take it any more.”

Pātaka Kai provides up to 300 food parcels a week and Olsen said the four staff work hard, unloading pallets of donated food and delivering the parcels.

In a recent case, a staff member was abused after delivering sausages, instead of the pork bones provided the week before.

The foodbank can only provide what food it had available and Olsen described the reaction as “bizarre” and very difficult to understand.

“They were very rude to us … I just can’t get my head around it because we are just giving them something they need.”

She suspects that there are often mental health and poverty issues, and had considered calling for assistance from Māori wardens.

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“>Gabriel Tupou,who has strong links to Wainuiomata and is the Wellington District area commander of Māori Wardens, said poverty is the issue that needs addressing.

For too long national politicians have talked about the need to fix poverty without providing solutions, he said.

People locked into poverty feel they have no way out and that can lead to anger, he said. Having spoken to Olsen, he said the wardens would be happy to help the foodbank.

Last May, Olsen was chosen as the Wellingtonian of the Year for her work helping vulnerable communities to be vaccinated.