9 October
A site-wide drive by staff at Northland Region Corrections Facility (NRCF) has today topped up stocks at the Kaikohe Christian Food Bank, and given back to a community that has helped them.
Corrections Inmate Employment Area Operations Manager Don Robertson put the call out to staff to support families in need and turned his office into a drop off point for a multitude of canned and packaged goods.
“The community has supported us, and continue to do so and now its our turn to help them out, plus head office down in Wellington have been collecting for a while now and I’m pretty sure we can collect more!
“No one’s piggybanks have looked very healthy over the last few months, but for some families in the region the struggle of keeping the power on or the rent paid means missing out on the staples.”
Kaikohe Christian Food Bank Coordinator Marianne Palmer says some families that were once just poor, are now struck by poverty.
“The people we help are sent to us on referral from Work and Income New Zealand, the Budgeting Service, pastors and even the Health Centre. Sometimes they don’t have the money for bread and milk let alone a bit of meat or some weetbix.”
“We really appreciate the effort from staff at the prison. There is a huge amount of food with a lot of variety, its just absolutely wonderful and very much appreciated. We hope you decide to do it again!”
Previously, prisoners at the site have grown vegetables for Age Concern in Kaikohe and last week 14 large trailer-loads of firewood cut by prisoners were taken from the prison and distributed to elderly war veterans and widows nominated by the Kaikohe RSA.
Note to journalist:
Anyone wishing to donate food or money to the food bank can do so at Bay of Islands Computers, Broadway, Kaikohe.
For further information contact the Communications Services Desk:
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