PAK’nSAVE has announced today its plans to help communities affected by Cyclone Gabrielle through a new initiative called ‘PAK Your Pantry’. The initiative aims to work with community partners in the worst affected areas to support families displaced or with inundated homes, helping them get back on their feet by providing PAK’nSAVE funds to ‘PAK Your Pantry’.
“Many Kiwi families have lost everything in the aftermath of Cyclone Gabrielle. Packing their pantries full of essentials when they get back home or move into new accommodation is something we can do to help. We know people are doing it tough, and we want to make it as simple and easy as possible for those affected to get back on their feet,” said Andrew Graney, owner and operator of PAK’nSAVE Tamatea in Napier.
PAK Your Pantry is about providing practical support. It will distribute gift cards through its community partners supporting whānau across Hawkes Bay, Coromandel, Gisborne, Wairoa, Northland and Auckland. The dollar value recipients will receive based on the size of the family, with a small whānau of two adults and two children receiving $600 to ‘PAK Your Pantry’ and a larger whānau of four adults and six children receiving $800. The enterprise has assembled a shopping list of essential items to help families.
The support focuses on getting the essentials back into the pantries of severely impacted families and rebuilding communities through local organisations. PAK’nSAVE is committed to working with local partners to ensure the support reaches those who most need it.
"Being a Hawkes Bay local, I’ve experienced the devastation of Cyclone Gabrielle first-hand. As a group of PAK’nSAVE store owners, we want to do our part in helping severely impacted Kiwis and ‘PAK Your Pantry’ is our way of providing practical support to families in need. We hope our efforts will help ease the burden for those affected and assist in helping them get back on their feet."
PAK’nSAVE’s community partner for Hawkes Bay, Nourished for Nil, is a Hastings-based food rescue organisation.
“It’s great to partner with PAK’nSAVE to help local people get back on their feet. A few weeks into the recovery from the cyclone, it’s ideal timing because our communities are slowly starting to come to terms with a disastrous time. There’s still a long way to go for many, but with this initiative, stocking up on essentials with the support of PAK’nSAVE will be one less thing to worry about for those worst affected,” shared Christina McBeth, Founder of Nourished for Nil.
Foodstuffs have committed to being Here for New Zealand. It has made social promises to support its local communities to thrive and to support every New Zealander to access healthy and affordable food.
‘PAK Your Pantry’ is the latest initiative from Foodstuffs North Island to support communities affected by the extreme weather and will be funded by PAK’nSAVE’s recent $575,000 donation towards cyclone recovery.
Foodstuffs North Island is the co-operative behind PAK’nSAVE, New World and Four Square stores. PAK Your Pantry follows $425,000 worth of product or cash funding provided by Foodstuffs North Island to support the immediate need of community partners, and $250,000 of support for growers and partners, bringing the total provided by the co-op to over $1,250,000 thus far.
Last month Foodstuffs North Island partnered with Whakarongorau Aotearoa, the New Zealand Telehealth Services, to help those affected know there’s free mental health support available by calling or texting 1737, the national mental health helpline. Stores in affected areas have had messages promoting the 1737 service added to its till receipts, announcements are playing over in-store speaker systems, and the service is being promoted via store Facebook pages and email.
Foodstuffs have also enabled customers to donate directly to the Red Cross New Zealand Disaster Fund through in-store posters and QR codes across 550 North and South Island stores.
For more information about PAK Your Pantry and PAK’nSAVE’s efforts to support communities affected by Cyclone Gabrielle, please visit the PAK’nSAVE website.
