'We need help': Food rescues facing risk of closure

Many charities risk facing closure because of rising costs and inconsistent funding.

Photo: RNZ / Alexa Cook

The food rescue and food bank sector are calling on the government to develop a national policy around food security as many charities risk facing closure because of rising costs and inconsistent funding.

A new survey of 35 food rescues found half of them are worried about closing in the next six months mainly due to rising costs such as fuel, and a lack of funding.

This year's Budget introduced $8 million annually in baseline funding to pay for food distribution and allocated another $7m in next year's budget - but no more after that - causing concern that food banks could close.

Jess Mackintosh volunteering at the Food Basket CHB.

Photo: RNZ / Alexa Cook

It's a blustery cold winter's day in the Central Hawke's Bay town of Waipawa, where the community hall is filling up with food and people.

The Food Basket CHB is a food rescue service, distributing groceries that've been donated by local supermarkets and residents. Unlike traditional food banks, there is no criteria to meet to access the food, and the charity feeds 800 people a week thanks to the help of 40 volunteers.

Volunteer Jess Mackintosh began helping out when she fell sick several years ago.

"I've got six kids and I couldn't get out of bed for a couple of years so these guys were really supportive of me and made sure my family was fed so I wanted to give back.

"There are so many hungry families out there that are trying to put food in their kids mouths and the cost of living is just out of control," she said.

Waipawa pensioner Stephen Bradley is also volunteering, he's been helping to collect and distribute food for over six years.

"We have noticed over the last six months the need is getting more and more. People are just finding it really hard.

"If you're in need we always say to people to come along - we don't always have a great lot of food but what we've got we can give out," he said.

Waipawa pensioner Stephen Bradley.

Photo: RNZ / Alexa Cook

Among those lining up to fill a bag of food is Nyssa Powell, who has three hungry kids at home.

"We're a solo income household and just finding everything is stretched a bit too thin and this really helps," she said.

SUBHEAD? "We need help"

The Food Basket founder Mel King told RNZ the service is at risk of disappearing if its current fundraiser, a raffle for a brand new car, isn't successful.

"There's no where we can trim any more fat off because everything we have keeps the lights on.. we can't reduce that any more.

"We're a core service and we have an amazing efficiency, amazing impact in our comunities and in people's homes ... there's no certainty so we're needing to really think about closing," said King.

The Food Basket founder Mel King.

Photo: RNZ / Alexa Cook

Food banks and food rescues are funded in a variety of different ways, with money from the Ministry for Social Development, lottery grants, local foundations and fundraising.

For community level food services, such as The Food Basket, King said consistent government funding was missing and it was finding it incredibly hard to secure enough.

"With the cost of living crisis and food insecurity being such a high-needs area, groups are closing and due to distance and size there are no other organisations like the Salvations Army to provide help.

"The funding is just not out there to support the level of work that we are expected to do and having to do daily and this looks to be business as usual," she worried.

The Food Basket is desperately trying to fundraise and needs to sell 3000 tickets to cover its yearly costs of operation.

"We've been running on empty for a couple of years and this is the way we want to secure the future of our food rescue operation.

"We're asking for help. We need help. We're not going to sit back and wait for funding to come to us," said King.

She said what's really needed is a national food strategy that guarantees long term funding.

"Food brings people together and I think it's underrated and undervalued what that can mean for a commuity. It does a disservice to the communities themselves when it's not recognised as being of value, and it's not funded," she said.

50% of AFRA food rescue organisations facing risk of closure

The New Zealand Food Network's chief executive Gavin Findlay agreed that a national plan was well overdue.

"We are a food nation yet we don't have any structure or policy or strategy around how our food is managed in the whole ecosystem.

"Our sector unfortunately is an integral part of how many many people access and have food.

"It's becoming quite prevalaent that people really struggle to put food on the table. They're turning to us and our sector to get a hand out or a help up," he said.

The Detail's Sharon Brettkelly (left) speaks to New Zealand Food Network CEO Gavin Findlay (right) in the charity's south Auckland warehouse.

Photo: Bonnie Harrison

Food rescue and food bank organisations have told Findlay that it's getting tougher to stay open.

"It's harder and harder and harder because overall costs are rising, and fuel costs rising... the volunteer workforce is diminishing because they can't come in as much as they could before.

"If you've not got funding to do that and then you're getting more and more need from people who are struggling - it's challenge all round that's for sure," he said.

A survey from the Aotearoa Food Rescue Alliance asked its 35 member organisations how long they could continue to keep the doors open.

Executive director Alice Cameron told RNZ the responses were saddening.

"Half of the respondents were not sure if they were going to be able to do that for longer than the next six months, so they are under incredible pressure," she said.

Cameron said the fuel crisis is a big factor - driving costs up and making it more expensive for volunteers to travel in.

"Increased operational pressures, volunteers starting to pull back and withdraw their capaicty... and in the face of overwhelming demand it's creating a real situation for our food rescue organisations at the moment," she said.

"It's very difficult to be able to plan, to be strategic if you don't know how long your funding is going to be available for - that's key," she said.

Minister for Social Development, Louise Upston.

Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii

The Minister for Social Development, Louise Upston, declined RNZ's request for an interview and in reponse to the call for a national food security policy, she said the government is focused on "strengthening and sustaining a coordinated national system".

"The Ministry of Social Development's Food Secure Communities programme supports a national, regional and local food distribution system.

"Ongoing Government investment, including baseline funding and additional support in 2026 to 2027 helps to maintain this infrastructure, support community providers to reach food insecure households and strengthen resilience and response capability. An independent evaluation found this is working effectively," she said.

The minister said in a fiscally and economically challenged environment, she was pleased that in Budget 2026 the government had been able to establish baseline funding for Food Secure Communities.

"Until now funding for FSC and also KickStart Breakfast programmes had been time-limited, creating annual uncertainty.

"Funding for FSC in Budget 2026 is a combination of new baselined funding to maintain existing community food distribution infrastructure at the current level ($8 million per year) and an additional investment of $7 million for community food providers, such as foodbanks, in 2026/27," she said.

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