Vegetables, meat _ and Christmas goodies

The Foodbank group are saving the best for the last of the year.

At Christmas, school-age children of foodbank “clients” all get a present.

The gifts come from under the Pain and Kershaw Christmas Tree, with age and gender data placed on the tree to help locals target their Christmas presents.

“So everybody who gets food from the Foodbank _ their children get a present in the Christmas food box,” said May Croft. There is also a special bag of “things for on the Christmas table. It’s nice to know everbody gets something special.”

This year the “Christmas Hamper” food bag will include a butterflied chicken, new potatoes, peas,

meringues, peaches and cream,and a separate grocery bag funded by the Lions Club.

As for meat, forestry companies are providing deer carcases which the foodbank has processed into

venison mince. “That is a huge donation,” as meat is expensive to buy, Peter Croft noted.

“We are getting about 300 kilograms of mince at a time” from each processing run.

They also have been gifted cattle beasts and lambs as well as raising pigs _ fed on surplus food.

Growing Foodbank vegetables is next on the pair’s list, with the group having applied for some kick-start funding.

“We want them on site so when people come they see things growing … from the grassroots, so they will want to come in.”

The group already has interest from what May calls “people who love gardening to get that up and

running,” using a fresh group of volunteers.

They see the development as a “natural progression” as, while they began by buying fruit and vegetables, currently most fresh produce comes from Martinborough locals “who come and drop it off. At least two families … grow their garden vegetables for the foodbank.”

“They just do it under the radar, come in on a Wednesday morning, drop it off and disappear.”

As well as fruit and vegetables, the Foodbank has a “Second Bite” table on Mondays where bakery and other items can be taken.

A similar “table” of food goods is available on Wednesdays _ pick-up day for families receiving weekly food boxes. This option also provides “food rescue” of items near use-by date.

Items not taken go to the Social Crust pigs, raised and fed for Christmas meat parcels.