Society of St Vincent de Paul staff in Auckland were delighted when a priest turned up at their centre in Onehunga with more than 4 tonnes of kumara to help fill food packages.
Panguru parish priest Fr Maliu ‘Otutaha organised and transported the donated kumara down from Dargaville.
A March 12 post on the Vinnies Youth Auckland facebook page thanked Fr ‘Otutaha, describing him as “an awesome servant of God caring for our communities”.
SVdP Auckland spokesperson Delphina Soti told NZ Catholic that they are currently servicing up to 1200 households each week, with a quarter of these experiencing Covid-19 and isolating.
Food insecurity is a big issue for some families, who are also facing decreased working hours, she added.
Fr ‘Otutaha and Mosese Uele.
Thanks go to Soane Toala of
Auckland for his generosity.
The increases in petrol and food costs have made things even tougher.
Ms Soti said SVdP Auckland are still dependent on donations, as well as the proceeds of Vinnies shops, and MSD grants help support people, especially those who are isolating.
The New Zealand Food network also brings in 20 per cent of the food we need each week,” she said.
“Most of the food is purchased. We have great helpers who assist with the procurement through their networks, like Fr Martin [Wu, Otahuhu] who has been assisting us with this mahi.”
“Sometimes we run out of something, and then people like Fr Maliu turn up with 4 tonnes of kumara which is a great help.”
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