The Otūmoetai social supermarket is ready for its first Christmas of providing food support.

The social supermarket, which opened in November, is a partnership between Linkt Community Trust and Foodstuffs North Island, a 100 per cent New Zealand owned and operated co-operative behind New World, PAK'nSAVE and Four Square in North Island.

Social supermarkets enable people who are experiencing food insecurity to choose what they need for themselves in a supermarket-style environment – rather than collecting a pre-filled food parcel, that might not meet their specific dietary, cultural or personal needs.

Linkt Community Trust Manager, John Paine says having access to a social supermarket will provide a sense of relief for many whānau across the community this Christmas.

'Many whānau are struggling to make ends meet and the added pressure of Christmas expectations make it a stressful time.

'This Christmas we're helping families make their resources go further. Providing support with groceries has a knock-on effect as it eases the pressure that comes from other bills like power and rent and helps offset the costs of other unexpected expenses.

'It also just brings a bit of aroha and joy after a challenging year and enables families to come together for a special meal during the festive season.”

The social supermarket programme is part of Foodstuffs' commitment to be ‘Here for NZ', helping to ensure all New Zealanders have access to healthy, affordable food and supporting local communities to thrive.

To help celebrate their first Christmas, the team at Otūmoetai Social Supermarket have added a set of shelves offering a selection of family focused Christmas gifts, such as swing ball sets, Nerf toys and other games. Shoppers can spend some family time together wrapping the gifts they select.

'We had one teenager wrap a gift and then proudly exclaim ‘this can be my gift to the family' before going away beaming. It's not just about Christmas gifts though, we've had several families use our service to save the money needed to pay for their children to attend end of year school camps.

'Being able to send your kids on the school camp helps parents maintain a sense of dignity and enables kids to have a full education and make lifelong memories. I'm proud we're helping provide a bit of hope and joy to the local community.”

Foodstuffs North Island are wanting to take some of the festive stress off the shoulders of whānau this year to make the big day more enjoyable. In the spirit of Christmas, the Foodstuffs team have partnered with Pams and Farmland to put together hampers full of Christmas goodies for distribution at the Otūmoetai Social Supermarket.

'Each hamper will contain the ingredients and recipe cards to make some delicious and nutritious kiwi classic Christmas dishes such as glazed ham, potato salad, seafood salad and pavlova,” saysa Foodstuffs spokesperson.

Willa Hand, Head of Membership Experience for Foodstuffs North Island says 'the team at Otūmoetai Social Supermarket are doing a fantastic job of supporting their local community”.

'In the short time they've been open they're already helping over 30 families each week. There can be a lot of expectation that comes with Christmas which makes it a magical time, but also a challenging time for many.

'As a 100-year-old co-operative, we want to be Here for NZ which is why we're stepping up to make a difference through our support of social supermarkets like the one in Otūmoetai.”

Otūmoetai Social Supermarket is Foodstuffs North Island's fifth social supermarket partnership. The 100% New Zealand owned and operated co-operative has recently announced plans to roll out its social supermarket initiative to more communities in the year ahead.

Otūmoetai Social Supermarket relies on community support and welcomes donations in the form of funds, food or games and can be contacted at office@oss.org.nz.