Welcome to our inaugural bi-monthly newsletter, Feeding Communities.
We are so excited to bring this to you and keep you up to date with the impact Meat the Need & Feed Out are having across Aotearoa. We thought the name was fitting to our charity's vision that no one should go hungry or unnourished in New Zealand.
Four months into the role as GM, I am extremely humbled by the amazing support, generosity and contribution that you as donors and organisations are providing us to continue to supply 110 + foodbanks on a regular basis.We are now supplying mince on a monthly basis to food banks and Milk powder or UHT milk every quarter. We know there are so many people doing it tough and community organisations across the country are telling us the demand is increasing as the cost of living rises.
My time so far has been filled with connecting with the amazing team who make this all happen behind the scenes, our volunteer champions in the regions and collaborating with the organisations that have supported Feed Out & Meat the Need from the beginning - Founding Partner Silver Fern Farms, Miraka and Fonterra who are as passionate as we are about what we do each day.
Over the next few months, we will be sharing stories with you here and across our social channels. We will be coming to your region to connect, support and have some fun so make sure you come out to have a coffee, say hi and witness first hand the difference you are making to communities, families and children who appreciate your donations more than words can express.
THANK YOU for your continued support to changing the face of food insecurity in New Zealand.
Zellara Holden xo
Latest news
The sale of Chris Medlicott's prized Stud Ram has provided more than 4,000 meals for food banks
Southland food banks and community organisations have been blessed with more than 23,000 donated mince meals over three years thanks to the generosity of the region's farmers and rural businesses.
Latest data released by Stats NZ to the year ending June 2023 show child poverty rates have increased, with the rising cost of living, driven by inflation, making it harder for families to afford the basics - including meat and vegetables.
12.5% of all children (143,700) were in material hardship.
17.5% of children (202,000) were in poverty, based on household income after housing costs have been paid.
12.6% of children (146,000) were in poverty, based on household income before the costs of housing are paid.
“To keep costs down, a greater proportion of households were more likely to go without things like fresh fruit and vegetables and buy cheaper or less meat than in previous years.”
- General manager of social and population insights Abby Johnston.
Donating milk through Feed Out
Did you know that one kilo of milk powder can make 32 milk meals?
For very little, you can make a massive impact by helping to give families and children sometimes the only source of calcium they will have in their diets.
The process to donate milk is also quick and easy.
If your milk is processed through Fonterra or Miraka, all you need to do is fill out the form below and we’ll take care of the rest. You can choose to do a one-off or a recurring milk donation, with 100% of it going into feeding families who need it most.
When you send your cows away this year, we’d love you to please consider allocating one to Meat The Need. It's easy to donate; either talk to your SFF rep or head to meattheneed.org tell us what you want to donate and when, and we take care of the rest.
With 100% of the proceeds going to those struggling with food insecurity, this is the impact YOU can have.
As founding partner of Meat the Need, Silver Fern Farms' partnership began during the lockdown of 2020 when the charity first launched. SFF wanted to provide nutritious meals to Kiwi families in need and support those who often go without the basics. It was in fact just the beginning of their long-term commitment to Meat the Need and changing the face of food insecurity across Aotearoa.
Since then they've helped to distribute supply over one million mince meals for food banks and community organisations through facilitating donations at the farm gate, processing and packaging, donating $1 from every sale of their PURE Burger pattie range and continuously going above and beyond to help our country's most vulnerable. To the team at Silver Fern Farms, we value your support, passion and contribution more than words can say.
Nāu te rourou, nāku te rourou, ka ora ai te iwi
(With your contribution and mine, the people will thrive.)
