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A Catholic food bank which served Christchurch people for 60 years had to close earlier this month.
Catholic Social Services says the cost of essential food items and a lack of donations were behind the decision to close.
“It’s terribly sad that our efforts to feed those who cannot afford food ceased because it had become unaffordable” says Simon Thompson, general manager of the Catholic Diocese of Christchurch.
“The difficult decision came after 12 months of effort to find additional funding streams.
“With Catholic Social Services receiving very few donations of food and only a tiny discount from supermarkets, it was no longer financially viable to operate the food bank.’’
At the time the food bank closed down, it was able to supply only about a dozen food parcels which volunteers were delivering each week to people in need.
Thompson says people seeking food parcels from Catholic Social Services should try approaching St Vincent de Paul (Vinnies) which is its partner organisation.
Although the food bank has closed, Catholic Social Services is planning to reopen its soup kitchen programme soon.
Catholic Social Services offers a range of programmes through its Christchurch agency.
These include promoting a holistic approach by offering many things – ounselling, social work support, group courses for children and adults, advice about budgeting/advocacy, practical needs advice and assistance, and post-adoption services.
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