Over lockdown, Visionwest’s food support service has experienced an unprecedented demand for food but the reasons for the demand are a little different than during previous lockdowns.

Amber* is sitting in her car at the Visionwest drive-through Pātaka Kai. She’d usually go to the supermarket but she’s pregnant and has heard about the contagious nature of the COVID Delta variant. “I don’t want to risk catching COVID and passing it onto my baby or other children. My mother is at home in our bubble too. She’s old and has breathing problems. I’m scared of what would happen if I got sick and passed it onto her.

“I’m also picking up food for the family next door to me. The children’s college is a place of interest and so they all have to stay home for at least five days. I’ll get food for them and leave it in their driveway so they can come out and get it, otherwise they will have nothing to eat.”

On Friday, August 20th, Visionwest’s Pātaka Kai pivoted to a contactless drive-through model offering support to those in the community requiring emergency food. In three hours, 250 cars collected food for 300 families – a demand greater than any previous lockdown and greater than any day leading up to Christmas. In all, it represented more than a 400% increase on the number of food parcels given away on a normal day.

What characterised the afternoon were the stories told by those collecting food – stories that revealed a significant difference to this lockdown when compared to previous ones.

In previous lockdowns, most of those who could access supermarkets were willingly doing so. That meant, those coming to Visionwest for food came sharing their experiences of trying to live on decreased incomes due to job loss or hours cutback. Many of these were people who had never previously accessed a foodbank or any other form of social support service.

This time it’s different for two reasons.

First, the naming of hundreds of locations of interest has translated to thousands of people having to self-isolate. These has been exacerbated by the Government’s issuing of a new Section 70 notice which states that not only do visitors of locations of interest have to self-isolate – their entire household must self-isolate with them until a day-five negative test is confirmed.

The result is entire households, many running short of food, are unable to leave the house to purchase essential items.

But it’s more than this. There is a second reason people are unable or unwilling to visit their local supermarket. News reports of the Delta-variant and its highly contagious nature has meant there is a new sense of anxiety in our communities. Even those who would usually go to the supermarket are hesitant. They are nervous about taking the risk of contracting the virus and spreading it to other whānau members.

For support agencies like Visionwest this has meant unprecedented demand for food. Brook Turner – Temporary Head of Visionwest Food Relief – says, “The demand is greater than any day previous to this lockdown. This morning, in just 30 minutes, we gave away 106 food parcels to people who are obviously extremely nervous.”

The issue doesn’t end here, however. Visionwest is now formulating a plan for those who are unable to get food, either because they have no one to collect it for them, or because they have no transport.

“The need to consider people who cannot get out to purchase essentials, or who are nervous about leaving their homes because of the health implications, is more pressing by the day. Where Visionwest hears about any whānau who are social distancing and have no way of accessing essential food, we will deliver, always taking precautions to ensure there is no compromising of COVID Alert Level 4 protocols.”

*Based on the stories of actual Pātaka Kai visitors.

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