Last weekend’s annual foodbank drive by Te Anau Scouts was a great success despite, or perhaps because of, being delayed by COVID-19.

In this third foodbank drive the Scouts collected three times as much food as in the previous two years. 

Senior Venturer Leader, Lyn Wicks co-ordinated the initiative designed to get the Venturers involved in community support. 

“We were going to run it at the end of March, as in the last two years, but had to can it because of the lockdown. As it turned out we need it even more now,” she said. 

 Venturer section (14 to 17-year-olds) organised the food collection with assistance from other scout groups. The youngest group, Keas decorated supermarket trolleys, while Cubs and Scouts dropped advertising leaflets around town.

The items donated by the Te Anau community included canned and dry packaged food, confectionery, breakfast cereals, jams and preserves, even pet food and toilet paper. 

The initiative was undertaken in association with the Fiordland Community House, which manages the local foodbank. The challenges created by the Covid-19 pandemic have left many Fiordland residents without jobs or with reduced working hours.

Fiordland Community House Co-ordinator, Vicki Shayler knows first-hand how many local families have been affected.

“There is a huge demand for food parcels. People are struggling, because they are not getting the same income they’d normally get,” she said.

Te Anau charity shops – The Grace Place and the Hospice Shop – observed no difference in numbers coming in after the lockdown compared to previous winters, although both experience high demand for bedding, warm clothes and children’s clothing. They acknowledge and are grateful for the support of the local community.

“Everything in our shop is donated. The community is very aware of people’s needs and just keeps on giving,” said one of The Grace Place volunteers who didn’t want to be named.