FEATURE SUPPLEMENT 13
www.age.co.nz Monday, October 31, 2022
k n a b d o Fo lection l o C
WAIRARAPA
2022 ANNUAL
THIS WEDNESDAY 2 NOVEMBER, FROM 6PM
Rotary
helps bridge the food gap From about 6pm on Wednesday 2 November 2022 you will hear sirens in the streets announcing the 22nd Wairarapa Foodbank Collection. The siren calls will urge you to donate non-perishable foods to your local foodbank. You could place a bag of items by your letterbox before the vehicles arrive in your street or rush out to meet the pick-up vehicles as they drive through. The Foodbank Collection is a signature project for the Masterton South Rotary Club. “We want to support our communities and make sure people can eat and live well,” says Ben Moorcock, Managing Partner of Masterton’s LJ Hooker and Rotary’s lead organiser of the Foodbank Collection this year. As well as Ben, Rotary’s 2022 Foodbank Collection committee is made up of Russell Carthew, Dick Hodson, Tiri Sotiri (President), and Robert Cameron. The idea of a foodbank collection was seeded in the year 2000 by Masterton South Rotarians Russell Carthew and
Paddy Greville and Deputy Fire Chief Henry Stechman Since then, the seed of their idea has grown into a ˜ owering tree. Carterton and South Wairarapa Rotary clubs have also become involved, to create a regionwide collection. “We were ahead of the curve”, says Russell Carthew, “in recognising the need to support Masterton’s foodbank. In the year 2000, foodbanks had very little visibility. Today, foodbanks are an integral part of our society and an essential link in the food chain.” For 22 years, Masterton South Rotary has teamed up with ÿ rst responders Fire and Emergency, Police, and Ambulance to help with the collection. This partnership between Rotary clubs and ÿ rst responders has also been rolled out across the other districts in the Wairarapa. “First responders are often those who see human need at its most desperate,” says Justin Long, senior ÿ re o˛ cer at Masterton’s ÿ re station and long-time volunteer for the Foodbank Collection. “It’s an opportunity to help people in need. Fire and Emergency New Zealand is proud to support the Foodbank Collection.” Back in 2019, NZ’s Food Network counted half a million New Zealanders living
Rotary’s ‘bridging the gap’ team - Ben, Russell, Dick, Tiri (President) and Robert without reliable, daily access to a˝ ordable and nutritious food. Today, that ÿ gure is estimated to have now doubled. In last year’s appeal, 500 banana boxes of goods were collected for the Masterton Foodbank alone, compared with 310 the year before. Russell Carthew says the annual November Foodbank Collection aims to keep the foodbanks stocked over Christmas and the New Year – a period that can be particularly tough ÿ nancially for some families. The collection is a wellsupported and well-oiled machine. Supermarkets donate banana boxes. Councils and Civil Defence support Rotary by providing up to date maps. Residential streets are
allocated into areas (24 areas in Masterton alone). In each area, a noisemaking ÿ rst responder will move through the streets from 6pm on Wednesday 2 November, accompanied by a collection vehicle with a trailer and a bevy of strapping students from Wairarapa colleges and the Masterton Boxing Academy, to collect your donations. Once collected, the food is taken to Masterton’s ÿ re station – the perfect place for multiple vehicles to drive in, drop o˝ , and drive out. The ÿ re station could not be used in last year’s appeal due to COVID restrictions and was sorely missed. “This is a really important e˝ ort which brings together di˝ erent
groups in the community to support the foodbank which, in turn, gives so much back to the community,” says Tiri Sotiri, President of the Masterton South Rotary Club. Normally, the collection takes place on the second Wednesday each November. This year, the date has shifted to the ÿ rst Wednesday in November. “If you miss the Foodbank Collection on the day,” Ben Moorcock says, “you can drop donations o˝ at Masterton Foodbank on Church St, Paper Plus, or your local library.” With any questions about this event, phone Ben Moorcock on 027 476 8283 or Rob Cameron on 027 658 4808.