On Thursday 20 August our newest member Lindy told us briefly about her super interesting life. Lindy grew up in India and is Scottish. She has lived in NZ for 35 years now and calls Auckland her home. When you next see Lindy make sure you talk to her as she has some fascinating stories to share with the club members. Thank you Liny for joining our club we value your input.
Ian Fulong from Glen Innes Foodbank- Making a difference in our community
David Hartstone introduced us to Ian who is the chair person of The Glen Innes Food Bank:
Ian thanked our club for its ongoing support of the Glen Innes Food Bank, which Rotary has been assisting for the past 7–8 years.
The food bank has been operating next to the Glen Innes Police Station for around 30 years. It was originally established by a detective at the police station and is now run extremely efficiently by Pete, a former UK Merchant Navy seaman.
The food bank is entirely volunteer-run, with volunteers preparing the food parcels and ensuring that all donated food goes directly into the boxes. The parcels are provided to households who need immediate assistance to help them through a difficult period.
Some interesting facts about the food bank:
- Around 1,800 food boxes are distributed each year.
- Pete collects donated food from businesses and organisations throughout the area.
- Rotary regularly collects outside supermarkets and typically manages to deliver around 100 boxes from each collection.
- The food bank costs approximately $30,000 a year to operate and has its own van for collecting donated food.
- Around $20 is spent on each box to purchase food or other essential items that have not been donated.
- Demand for food boxes continues to increase and is expected to grow further.
- There are clear guidelines around the number of boxes a household can receive, with a maximum of four boxes per household.
- Proof of address is required when collecting food boxes.
- While the rules are clear, they can sometimes be difficult to enforce, as the food bank is trying to support households experiencing genuine hardship and needing ongoing assistance.
- A number of generous suppliers regularly donate food to the food bank.
The ongoing search for funding is an important part of keeping the food bank operating and meeting the increasing demand.
Our Rotary Board recently donated $2,000 to the Glen Innes Food Bank, and Ian expressed his sincere appreciation to the club for this generous contribution and for our continued support over many years.
