Foodstuffs North Island and Māngere Budgeting Services Trust have announced a partnership that will see the two organisations open South Auckland’s first social supermarket in Māngere.
The brainchild of Foodstuffs North Island, the 102-year-old, 100 percent New Zealand-owned and operated co-operative of grocers behind Four Square, Gilmours, New World, PAK’nSAVE stores, and Māngere Budgeting Services Trust, a leading provider of food support, financial mentoring, counselling and housing advocacy for the South Auckland community.
The new store, Tatou, which in te reo Māori, Samoan and Tokelauan broadly translates as meaning “everyone”, will provide food and grocery products at low or no cost, using a points system, all within a standard supermarket environment, making healthy and affordable food accessible to the community.
Lara Dolan, Chief Executive of Māngere Budgeting Services Trust, said the team is eager to open the new social supermarket.
"It will help bring mana to people who can’t afford groceries to feed their families right now. Last year, we supported 7,000 people with access to food, but we want to do more. By partnering with Foodstuffs North Island, we’re creating an awesome new service for our community, where people can shop with dignity in a supermarket-style environment and choose the items that meet their dietary, cultural, and personal preferences," said Dolan.
Willa Hand, Head of Social Supermarkets for Foodstuffs North Island, said the company knew how many families were doing it tough.
"This is why we’re on a mission to open social supermarkets across the North Island. This is going to be our 11th social supermarket, and we’re only able to deliver them by collaborating with fantastic partners. We’ve worked with the team at Māngere Budgeting Services for several years now, and they do awesome mahi. We can’t wait to open this social supermarket with them,” said Hand.
Foodstuffs North Island has committed to be 'Here for NZ' and promised to help ensure all New Zealanders have access to healthy, affordable food and support local communities to thrive.
“We’re retailers; that’s our expertise, and Māngere Budgeting Services are making a positive difference in their community; that’s what they’re great at. Our teams fit out the space to create the store, provide the training and ongoing support, and commit to helping keep the shelves stocked. Māngere Budgeting Services helps design the social supermarket to fit the local community, and they put in the mahi to deliver an awesome service. It’s a real partnership,” said Hand.
Foodstuffs North Island opened its first social supermarket in partnership with the Wellington City Mission in March 2021. The co-op has since partnered with community organisations to open a further nine social supermarkets across the North Island, with Tatou set to become number 11. In addition to providing food support, Māngere Budgeting Services also offers wraparound services to help people access additional support. Services such as financial mentoring, counselling and housing advocacy help address the underlying causes of food insecurity.
Tatou is scheduled to open its doors on Thursday, 11 April 2024.
To read more local news, click here.
