Foodstuffs North Island Provides 1,200 Families With A Christmas Dinner Via Their Social Supermarket Partners

Foodstuffs North Island is providing 1,200 kiwi families with recipe cards and ingredients to make a Christmas dinner through their social supermarket partners across the motu.

Christmas is traditionally an expensive time of year for households, and with the current cost of living, it’s a sad reality some kiwi families will be wondering how they’re going to put a meal on the table on 25 December.

Foodstuffs, the co-operatives behind the 100% New Zealand owned PAK’nSAVE, New World, Four Square and Pams brands have made a commitment to be ‘HereforNZ’ and with that comes a promise to ensure all New Zealanders have access to healthy affordable food.

So, as we approach this year's festive season, Foodstuffs North Island is playing a part by empowering 1,200 kiwi families who would otherwise be facing challenges when it comes to putting food on the table.

The co-operative is sending a delicious Christmas food favourites to its social supermarket partners - community organisations who are providing New Zealanders who are experiencing food insecurity with a supermarket style environment where they can choose what they need for themselves.

The social supermarket programme is part of Foodstuffs’ commitment to be ‘HereforNZ’, delivering on its four promises to support every New Zealander to access healthy and affordable food, create meaningful work for its people, support local communities to thrive and lead on sustainability in its operations and how it sources its products.

Willa Hand, Social Supermarket Lead for Foodstuffs North Island said: “The rising cost of living means many families are under a lot of pressure so as we approach this year's festive season, we’ve partnered with the teams at Pams, Farmland Foods and Inghams. Our goal is to offer a way for people to enjoy a fantastic Christmas spread of seasonal ingredients that are good value right now, with their whānau, while also choosing the foods they like and then providing some recipe inspiration to match their kitchen skills.”

“We know our shoppers come from different walks of life and have various cooking experience. That's why we've come up with something special. For example, a classic side of green beans can be cooked on its own, or with garlic butter, or with basil pesto and almonds or served in a salad.”

Dave Letele’s Buttabean Motivation (BBM) is partnered with Foodstuffs North Island and runs a social supermarket in Tokoroa, he said: “This is what it’s all about, helping others if you can. We put a lot of pressure on ourselves at Christmas time and being able to do something most of us take for granted, like choose what we have for lunch, is going to make a massive difference. A huge thank you to Foodstuffs and their Pams brand for embodying the true spirit of Christmas and giving back and spreading joy.”

Lisa Oldershaw, General Manager of Foodstuffs Own Brands, the team behind the Pams brand said: “We’re proud to have put Pams products on New Zealanders tables for over 80 years, delivering a great range of products that provide choice for every New Zealander. In these challenging times, when household budgets are under so much pressure, customers are searching for the best value that comes with lower priced alternatives and when customers shop Pams, they’re getting great quality products at great prices that meet their needs.”

“Sadly, even at lower prices, some families are really struggling to make ends meet, which is where the work of our social supermarket partners can make all the difference” – she added.

Helping around 1,200 families, Foodstuffs North Island has selected six key food items and provided ideas on how to cook them, suggestions for spicing things up, and tips on using any leftovers. The team have also designed the recipes to use the same ingredients, so food waste will be kept to a minimum.

Ingredients and meal ideas include:

• Pams Coleslaw: Can be served as is, or with almonds & cranberries. Leftovers can be used in sandwiches or wraps
• Pams Green beans: Can be cooked on its own, sautéed with garlic butter, or with basil pesto and almonds or served in a salad
• Pams Buffet rolls: As with a dollop of butter or as roll pull aparts
• Pams Potatoes: Easily roasted, baked or steamed
• Ingham’s whole chicken: Can be roasted or grilled
• Farmland Foods Christmas ham: Sliced and served as is or cooked on the BBQ

Foodstuffs North Island’s social supermarket partners include:

• Wellington City Mission in Wellington
• Te Kahu Oranga Whānau in Kaitaia
• BBM in Tokoroa
• Whare Āwhina in Whangārei
• Linkt Trust in Otūmoetai
• Visionwest in West Auckland
• Palmerston North Methodist Social Services in Palmerston North
• Nourished for Nil in the Hawke’s Bay
• Te Whariki te Manawahine o Hauraki (Hauraki Women’s Refuge)

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