Whai Manaaki Kai

Our fruit and vegetable pop-up has further enhanced nutritional access for whānau.

Completing its second full year of operation, Manaaki Kai has further embedded its mana enhancing, client-led model of food support within Visionwest. This saw 1,980 shoppers accessing the social supermarket. Meanwhile, 12,179 emergency food parcels were distributed through Pātaka Kai – that’s over $1.89M worth of kai to whānau in urgent need.

A new initiative for Whai Manaaki Kai has been our Friday Fruit and Veggie pop up. Launched this year, it is meeting a growing demand for fresh, healthy kai at an affordable price. For just $16 a week, whānau can purchase a bag containing a variety of fruit and vegetable items. The strong uptake of this pop-up reflects a growing awareness and trust in Visionwest’s kai services, and its success stands out as a particularly rewarding part of the year. Feedback from whānau has been overwhelmingly positive, with many expressing gratitude for access to fresh, healthy produce they could not otherwise afford – read more about this in the Milestones section of this Report.

Another deeply rewarding outcome was witnessing a volunteer’s journey from casual volunteering at Whai Manaaki Kai to securing a part time role and eventually transitioning into full time employment in another department within Visionwest. Their story is a powerful reflection of the mana-enhancing, empowering environment Whai Manaaki Kai seeks to foster, not only for those receiving support but also for those serving.

Meeting the consistently high demand for food support remains a challenge, especially during these times of increased community need. Ensuring that our shelves remained fully stocked, particularly in our Social Supermarket, has required ongoing coordination with suppliers, volunteers, and community partners – all of whom we value greatly.

Notable over the past year has been the continued rise in working families accessing kai support. Self-referral continues to be the main access point with many whānau coming to a food support organisation for the first time.