Access to food or essential items

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Information provided by MOH and Unite Against Covid-19 Website.

Access to food or essential items

06 Sep 2021

Delayne Tutemahurangi

We all need food and essential items such as medicine through COVID-19 lockdowns, so please don’t try to go without. This fact sheet has information about the many ways of getting food and other essential items to you.

This fact sheet has information for all New Zealanders about:

  • Food delivery

  • If you can’t get food delivered

  • Staying safe when getting food delivered

  • Financial help to buy food

  • Foodbanks

Food delivery

If you are sick, or can’t leave home to buy food or essential supplies, you can ask family, whānau, friends or neighbours to drop off goods and groceries for you. Talk to your support networks like family, whānau, friends, and neighbours to see if they could deliver essential items to you. Try food delivery such as supermarket home delivery, food parcels, frozen pre-prepared meals, subscription food boxes or any other whole-food delivery service:

  • For subscription food boxes go to: My Food Bag OR Hello Fresh

  • For supermarket delivery go to: Countdown OR New World.

    You can also use your supermarket’s click and collect service, and ask a local friend, family member or neighbour to drop off groceries for you.

    Contact your local supermarket or dairy to find out if they are delivering groceries and how to order. Your supermarket may have reserved some priority slots for people who need to use online shopping.

    Staying safe when getting food delivered

  • Deliveries should be contactless and kept local.

  • If you are delivering supplies, remember to stay 2 metres apart and wear a face covering.

  • If you get your supplies delivered, remember to stay 2 metres away from those delivering them, wear a

    face covering and wash and sanitise your hands after you have put the supplies away. Go to: https://covid19.govt.nz/about-this-site/contact-and-support/

Financial help to buy food

If you need financial help to buy food, Work and Income may be able to help. Visit the Work and Income website for urgent financial support and ongoing needs. You can apply for a main benefit online and check your eligibility for food assistance. You can also use the COVID-19 financial support tool on the Unite Against COVID-19 website to see what support is available to you. Go to:

Foodbanks

If you need food urgently (eg if you need food in the next 24 to 48 hours), your local foodbank may be able to help. You can find your local foodbank by searching on the Family Services Directory website:

Family Services Directory website

If you can’t get food delivered

If you have tried and can’t access support through any of the options above, contact your local Civil Defence and Emergency Management (CDEM) Group.

Go to: http://www.civildefence.govt.nz/find-your-civil-defence-group/

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