Hamilton to open social super­mar­ket

Hamilton’s first social super­mar­ket will open in August as demand for food sup­port con­tin­ues to grow across the Waikato.

Kirikiri­roa Fam­ily Ser­vices Trust is pre­par­ing to launch the ini­ti­at­ive and is call­ing on busi­nesses, grow­ers and res­id­ents to help stock its shelves before open­ing day.

The trust said the ser­vice comes at a time when many local fam­il­ies are strug­gling with rising liv­ing costs and increas­ing pres­sure on house­hold budgets.

Find­ings from the NZ Hun­ger Mon­itor showed 40% of Waikato house­holds exper­i­enced food insec­ur­ity dur­ing the past year, com­pared with the national aver­age of 33%.

Trust chief exec­ut­ive Jaye Wainui said the organ­isa­tion was see­ing grow­ing demand from fam­il­ies who had never pre­vi­ously sought assist­ance.

“Demand is grow­ing rap­idly, and we need to build and stock the shelves before we open the door. We need the shelves full before day one, and we’re ask­ing our com­munity to help make that hap­pen.”

Unlike a tra­di­tional food bank, the social super­mar­ket will allow whānau to select the gro­cer­ies and house­hold items they need in a super­mar­ket-style set­ting. The ini­ti­at­ive will also con­nect fam­il­ies with ser­vices includ­ing budget­ing sup­port, par­ent­ing pro­grammes, employ­ment assist­ance and well-being ser­vices.

Wainui said many fam­il­ies seek­ing sup­port were in paid employ­ment but were find­ing it increas­ingly dif­fi­cult to make ends meet. “Every day we meet par­ents who are mak­ing impossible choices between pay­ing rent, keep­ing the lights on and put­ting food on the table,” Wainui said.

“Every day we meet par­ents who are mak­ing impossible choices between pay­ing rent, keep­ing the lights on and put­ting food on the table.”

Jaye Wainui, kirikiri­roa Fam­ily Ser­vices Trust

“Many of these fam­il­ies have never struggled to access enough food before. They are work­ing hard, doing their best for their tam­ar­iki, but rising costs are stretch­ing house­hold budgets bey­ond break­ing point.”

The trust cur­rently sup­ports thou­sands of tam­ar­iki and whānau across Waikato. Between July 2024 and June 2025, it received refer­rals for more than 4000 tam­ar­iki, with more than 2,100 engaged in ser­vices.

The trust is seek­ing dona­tions of food, toi­letries, clean­ing products and baby items, along with fin­an­cial con­tri­bu­tions and part­ner­ships with local busi­nesses and sup­pli­ers.

“We know Hamilton is a com­munity that cares,” Wainui said. “This is an oppor­tun­ity for our whole com­munity to come together and make a dif­fer­ence for local fam­il­ies who need extra sup­port.”

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Source: https://www.pressreader.com/new-zealand/the-waikato-local-228p/20260624/page/1