Construction of an interactive children’s play area next week can’t come soon enough for the growing and increasingly busy Communities Feeding Communities (CFC) in Roskill South.

Community Relations Manager Anne Overton says building the play area, which is funded by The Tindall Foundation, represents a milestone in creating a community-focussed centre that serves the local Roskill South neighbourhood.

“We’re creating a play area for children to use their imagination and be creative with their play while having their family or whanau interact with them. The idea is families can enjoy being at CFC together.

“The timing of the installation couldn’t be better as the number of meetings and services held at CFC is growing. For instance, we now have financial mentoring sessions, free budgeting advice and financial planning advice, volunteering days, prayer meetings, cooking sessions and special events.

“A little playhouse, one of the biggest design elements, is ready to go into the play area along with a mud kitchen, which is a bench with a working tap for children to make mud pies or have make-believe tea parties.”

Situated at the rear of the large CFC site well back from the road, the play area has a large tree that will provide shade in the summer and shelter year-round. Garden allotments and a picnic table are next to the play area to make it easy for parents to garden, have a cup of tea or for families to enjoy a picnic while watching their children play.

Children visiting CFC and from local kindergartens have had a say in finalising the play area design.

The play area will be opened with a celebration for local children and their parents towards the end of April.

Communities Feeding Communities (CFC) is a partnership between Presbyterian Support Northern (PSN) and Northern Presbytery (a region of the Presbyterian Church) with the aim to increase food security for people living in the Mt Roskill, Auckland area.

Located at 1207 Dominion Road, Roskill South, CFC provides a limited number of emergency kai parcels to locals and to people referred by support agencies. However, the team’s main focus is on working with the local community to discover ways on achieving food security.

CFC has a community garden, allotments, a micro-food forest planted with berry and fruit trees, a kai space for emergency food parcels and a pātaka kai (community food pantry).

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